Denial
by A September Rose
Summary: [53, 8Y, KD, yaoi] Dokugakuji hears an interesting rumor about his little brother and decides to investigate. He's not the only one who finds out. The Ikkou gets separated and is forced to accept a few truths along the way. [Complete with epilogue.]
1. Prologue: Intervention

Disc: Minekura.

A/N: This story started out as just another oneshot, but I'm afraid the plotkappas were breeding out-of-control and attacked en masse at a critical point towards the end.

Glossary: 'Aniki' - casual way to refer to one's older brother  
'Oniisama' - polite way to refer to an older brother; Gojyo uses it sarcastically, of course

Prologue: Intervention

Constructed directly amongst several craggy mountains, Houtou Castle stretched up to the cloudy skies above it, all angles and points. The castle had not been designed with aesthetics in mind, but rather to intimidate all who saw it, even those long subservient to Gyuumaoh.

Now, with Gyuumaoh sealed, Houtou lacked some of the direct fear its ruler once instilled, but a sinister air still surrounded the place. Armed guards remained stationed all around the perimeter, though the patrol routes were longer than in the past. All available resources and personnel were being diverted to an oncoming threat from the East, which was never spoken of beyond whispers.

A young male with a gray cloak about his shoulders slipped through the line of guards after showing them a seal and leaving his dragon in their care. His feet sounded lightly in the empty hallways of the castle as he headed for his destination towards the back. He caught his reflection in a dirty full-length mirror and stopped to examine himself quickly.

His tanned skin was dirty from not having bathed in a few days and his dark brown hair had grown extensively since he'd been away on his mission. The shaggy mess almost covered up a wavy-looking birthmark on the side of his neck that, along with his pointed ears and claws, marked him as a member of the youkai race.

His matching brown eyes narrowed at the sight. He wasn't even remotely presentable for his lord, but the news he brought would hopefully overshadow his state of appearance.

He continued on down the hallway until he reached an open area through two huge wooden doors. He was in luck today and spotted his lord in the center of the room with his closest subordinates.

"Kougaiji-sama!"

The youkai prince turned around, ignoring the fact that Lirin was still chattering away next to him, and addressed the youkai who had just entered the room. "Seiran," he said, walking over to meet him halfway. "What are you doing here? You've only been on your mission for six months. I knew you were one of my best spies, but we weren't expecting you to return until year's end."

"I assure you that you give me too much credit," Seiran insisted, bending at the waist to fully bow before Kougaiji. "However, in my assignment to gather information on the Sanzo-Ikkou, I came across a piece of data that was far too interesting to simply file into a report at the end of the year."

Kougaiji looked intrigued now. Behind him, Lirin had fallen silent and, in a huff at being ignored, left the room. Yaone stood a few feet back from her lord, hands folded in front of her in anticipation of the report. On her right, directly behind the prince, Dokugakuji shifted his weight from foot to foot. He wasn't bored; it was more like he thought most of this formality and vagueness was a waste of time.

"So?" Doku interjected after a moment of silence. "Spill already. What's the big discovery?"

Seiran's eyes briefly moved to where Doku was standing but, ultimately, he lowered his head again in deference to Kougaiji. "My Lord, your orders for me were to observe the Sanzo-Ikkou, trying to spot potential weaknesses to exploit. I understand you were talking about physical weaknesses, but I found something that may work better."

Kougaiji snorted dismissively. "If you're coming to me with something psychological, I don't want to hear it. I don't play with people's minds."

From the way his eyes flickered, the spy figured that it was a sore spot with him.

"Kou," Doku started, but the prince raised a hand to silence him.

"Continue."

"As you wish." Seiran cleared his throat. "I had been observing them for several months, not engaging them as you asked, My Lord. In those first few months, I noticed some distinct personality traits within the Ikkou itself.

"I admit that I focused mainly on Genjyo Sanzo over the rest of his teammates, as he is the one with the sutra that Your Lordship has been seeking. Normally, I observed that he was short-tempered, brutal, irritable, and his treatment of two of the others borders on physical abuse. Even though they have all known each other for several years, he keeps them at a distance and is continually cold and short with them.

"However, not two months ago, a change took place within the group. I was unable to place it at first, but whatever it had been, it made Genjyo Sanzo slightly calmer, more deliberate in his actions, and more secretive. That warranted further investigation.

"Approximately one month ago, they were staying at the main inn of a small town several hundred miles from their current location. I observed that Genjyo Sanzo was spending an unusually large amount of time with one of his companions over the others and I followed them when the two retired to their room.

"Imagine my surprise, My Lord, when I sat to watch the footage recorded by the camera I'd hidden in their room earlier. The picture itself was not of the highest quality, but the audio made sure there was no mistaking what was going on. What I observed were rather…" Seiran coughed again, blushing slightly. "**Intimate** relations."

Kougaiji blinked. Whatever he had been expecting, it had not been that. "So… what are you saying?"

"What I am saying, Kougaiji-sama, is that this is Genjyo Sanzo's newest weakness. He has taken on a lover." Seiran looked a little hesitant, but held up what looked to be some sort of disc. "I have the footage right here if you'd like to see for your—"

"NO!"

Everyone in the room looked at their prince, who was trying desperately, and failing, to hide his embarrassment. Kougaiji closed his eyes and his voice came out softly. "I believe you."

Yaone cut in, unsure. "Seiran-san, are you sure that it's not a new member of the party? Have they taken on a female companion, perhaps?"

The youkai spy shook his head. "There are no new additions. Had there been, I surely would've reported it to you, my lord." He looked back at his humiliated commander. "It is a member that has been with him since the beginning of the Journey."

Doku tried to offer some suggestions, anything to get that pained look off of Kou's face. "Which one is it? I kinda thought he and the kid were pretty close." He thought for a second. "I guess he gets along with the driver more than anyone else, though."

"It's not Hakkai-san," Yaone said all of a sudden, causing Doku and Kougaiji to look at her, puzzled. She immediately turned red and covered her mouth with her hands. "I mean to say that since we are opponents, I've learned to read him and I think I would be able to tell if that were the case!" The sentence came out very quickly and muffled.

"So?" Doku turned back to the spy, looking him up and down, almost tempted to just grab that disc out of his hand, if not for the fact that the last thing he wanted to see was that pissy priest 'in the act.' The very thought disgusted him beyond belief. "That hyperactive brat then? Didn't know the guy went for that kind of thing…"

"Son Goku is not involved other than that he knows about it; the same holds true for Cho Hakkai," Seiran explained, finally glad to have the floor back. "Genjyo Sanzo has taken to sharing a bed with the _hanyou_."

Dokugakuji could almost feel the smirk he'd let settle on his face crash to the floor. Both Yaone and Kougaiji were silent and Seiran looked around, troubled.

"Have I said something wrong, Kougaiji-sama?"

Doku's mouth now hung open and his hands twitched rather uselessly at his sides. Any smart-ass comment he could even attempt to say vanished as he tried to wrap his mind around that statement. '_Gojyo… in a relationship with… taken on a lover… Gojyo.'_ No matter how hard he tried, it just didn't fit together.

"Are you sure of this?" Kougaiji asked, shooting his swordsman a concerned glance as he once again focused on his spy. "Perhaps it only appeared that way…"

"Would you like to see the video footage, My Lord?"

As Seiran once again held up the disc, Kougaiji felt light-headed; the thought of seeing such a thing was making him dizzy.

"NO!" This time, the horrified cry came from Doku. He took several quick strides over to Kougaiji and Seiran and placed himself between them. He'd thought it couldn't get any worse than thinking of the priest involved in anything sexual, but when it also concerned his younger brother, that just made his stomach churn.

After another moment of silence, Yaone too joined the group. "Maybe it would be best if we left it at that, Seiran-san. Thank you for all your hard work."

"But, Kougaiji-sama!" he insisted. "I was thinking that the information would come in handy in any further pursuit of the sutra. We could simply take his lover hostage, hold him for ransom, which we'd set at the Maten-kyo, and—"

"That will be **all**, Seiran." Kougaiji said, voice completely serious. "You are dismissed."

Seiran knew better than to disobey. "Thank you, my Lord." With another deep bow, he turned and left the room, closing the door securely behind him.

As soon as the spy had left, Kougaiji looked up at his bodyguard. "I won't do anything with that information, don't worry. We'll take care of the Sanzo-Ikkou on the **battlefield** and get the sutra by our **own** means."

Yaone nodded. "The secret won't leave this room."

Doku was finally regaining some of his senses. "Thanks, you two, but…" He scratched his head. "How the hell do you think **that** happened?"

Kou sighed, making his auburn bangs move upward. "I expect it will remain a mystery."

-+-

The tiny village of Yi San was the latest stopover for Sanzo and his companions, according to Seiran's data. Since the entire town had only one inn, Doku didn't have a hard time at all figuring out where the group was staying.

He felt a little uneasy walking down the main street of the city, even though no one was looking at him. Yaone had let him borrow a power limiter to conceal his youkai identity when he traveled and he absently played with the ring encircling his right index finger. He found it amazing that one tiny piece of metal could completely obscure his ears, claws, canines, and markings. He'd even had to do a double take when he saw his appearance in the mirror. Aside from his height and tanned skin, he looked completely human. He'd also changed into more appropriate clothes before leaving the castle.

Doku had never actually spent too much time around large groups of humans in his life; it was nerve-wracking. He knew better than most about the tensions between humans and youkai; he wondered if they would panic if they saw through the illusion put on by the limiter. He forced the thoughts from his head and made his way to the little inn.

It was a modest place, only two floors, with a sturdy wooden structure encompassing both lodging and a small restaurant. Despite the relative size of the town, it looked like it did pretty well for itself. He took a deep breath and stepped through the doors.

"Welcome!" A young woman at the front desk greeted him. "Are you here for a reservation or just to dine?"

He moved to the desk, not wanting to attract too much attention. "I'm actually… looking for someone," he managed, eyes fixing on the bound register lying on top of the desk, next to where she was resting her hands. "There is a traveling priest who is supposedly staying here with his followers. Do you know if that's the case?" Doku really wasn't used to speaking formally, but it never hurt to be too polite, especially when he was a visitor to the **human** town.

The woman beamed. "Oh, you must be speaking of Priest Sanzo! Yes, he and his group checked in a little while ago." Now, she looked a little troubled. "He did say though that there were to be no disturbances. So, if you want to ask for his blessing, I'm afraid I'll have to turn you away."

"Oh, no," Doku said, waving his hands to dissuade her. "I was just curious to see if there was any truth to the rumors. I wouldn't dare disturb—" He swallowed, trying not to sound sarcastic. "Sanzo-sama."

The woman continued to smile and Doku found it a bit eerie. "Well, in that case, would you like to reserve a table for dinner? Our local specialty is a vegetarian Dim Sum…"

Doku tuned her out as his heightened senses, not the least dulled by the limiter, picked up footsteps on the stairs just behind the desk. Some very familiar voices soon joined in.

"Naa, Sanzo! I'm starving! When do they serve dinner?"

A frustrated sigh drifted down the stairs. "Would you just **shut up**, damn _bakazaru_!"

"_Maa maa_, Sanzo. It's a legitimate question. You insisted that we drive on through lunch, so it's expected that we'll all be a little hungry."

"… No one asked you."

'_Crap_!' Doku bolted through the exit doors, ducking behind one of the pillars on the front porch of the inn until he saw golden blond hair pass by on the other side of the window. '_That was close_,' he thought, sliding down to the ground. It occurred to him after catching his breath that he hadn't heard Gojyo's voice among them. As he peered into the window, he noticed the other three members of the Ikkou standing in the lobby by themselves. Doku searched for red hair and found none.

Sighing in defeat, Doku contented himself with watching the actions of the priest. He certainly didn't see whatever Gojyo did in the guy, he had to admit – yeah, the guy was a bit of a looker, but anyone who got within a few feet of him was instantly subjected to his rotten personality, violent tendencies, foul mouth, and other things unbefitting a holy man.

'_Personally,'_ Doku mused to himself, _'If it were up to me, the leader personality **is** nice, but a benevolent type who treats others with respect is a much better choice, if you have to like **any** of your teammates. That and long auburn hair…'_

'_Whoa, snap out of it_!' Doku didn't know where he had been going with that. He refocused his senses on the Ikkou, training especially on the Sanzo priest. Still no sign of Gojyo, which actually made Doku worry. _'After all, I **am** the guy's big brother, and, in my mind, I guess I'll always kinda' see Gojyo as the same bratty little kid who was getting into trouble all the time.' _That was why the mere thought of him engaging in sex – with **anyone** – made Doku shudder.

All three members of the Ikkou that had gone downstairs eventually reached whatever decision they were trying to make. The kid bounded back upstairs while the driver took the priest's credit card and gestured towards the door. Then, the priest flagged a waitress down, gestures indicating that he wanted something sent up to his room.

Doku, still in his semi-hidden spot, completely froze when the driver reached the doors, miniature pet dragon perched on his shoulders. Doku inched around the pillar to avoid him, but cursed mentally when the brunet stopped on the porch, breathing in the fresh air.

"It's quite nice today, isn't it, Hakuryu?" he asked of the dragon, who cheeped in response. "Well, I suppose it's once again up to us to get the shopping done."

Doku heard paper rustling and figured it was a list that he was going over.

"Too bad Gojyo sped off to one of those bars so fast… I really could've used his help."

The healer walked down a few steps before pausing. The dragon chirped again, lower this time. "Oh, it's nice to see you again, Dokugakuji-san." His voice was directed at the pillar, making the youkai swordsman start. "I'm not sure what your business is with us today, but if you get the chance, please send Yaone-san my regards." With that, he walked off, disappearing down the main street.

Doku blinked. '_Seiran must be able to turn invisible if he got past **that** guy_.'

-+-

With the knowledge that the healer knew he was here and would most likely let the other members of the party know, tracking down his younger brother wasn't going to be easy. Doku now realized that he wasn't made for spying – his frame alone made it nearly impossible – and decided it would be best to just be up front and direct.

There wasn't much to do in the town itself; the place was mostly residential and only had one main street with the single inn, a few restaurants and shops, and two bars. Upon entering the closest bar, he noticed right away that it had a gambling atmosphere and figured he'd made the right choice between the two.

The brilliant shock of red amidst a sea of brown and black proved him right. Gojyo was seated at one of the center tables, dutifully studying his hand and glancing up every few seconds to judge the faces of his opponents. He would casually take a swig of beer now and then, but Doku could tell it was just another tactic to catch the other players off guard.

Doku felt the smallest swell of pride when Gojyo laid his cards down on the table and the other three men around him groaned in defeat.

The two brothers had started playing cards together almost fifteen years ago and Gojyo had been an extremely fast learner. '_Looks like he hasn't lost his touch.'_

Hanging back in the crowd, the older of the brothers satisfied himself by watching a few more hands, grinning each time Gojyo cleaned up, several times on a bluff. A few female admirers had gathered around the redhead and he wasn't bothering to send them away. That made Doku think. '_What if Seiran was mistaken after all_?'

After a while, it was evident Gojyo was getting bored and the other men were wising up to his skills. He collected all of his winnings, paid his tab, and abruptly left. Doku was surprised at this turn of events and waited a few seconds before tailing Gojyo.

-+-

'_This is most definitely getting annoying_,' Gojyo decided. '_First off, I just wanted to relax and spend an evening in for a change, but Sanzo'd gotten his robes in a bunch and told me to get out of his sight for the night._'

'_Second, my backup option – card games, liquor, and plenty of each – had been surprisingly stale. Maybe it's because I haven't been out to a bar all by my lonesome in over a month, but everything seemed predictable and dull. I was able to read the other guys in the game so easy it wasn't even funny. Those girls hanging all over me suddenly looked to have way too much makeup and hair extensions. Heh, for one of the first times in my life, a quiet evening in the company of a certain moody blond feels infinitely preferable to a rowdy bar of nameless faces-_

'_Crap, I **am** getting soft_.

'_Third, if my older brother doesn't stop following me in about two minutes, I'm going to scream. I'm not sure what kind of game Jien's playing, but the little detective act is about a decade too old.' _Doku may have disguised his features – which made them look a little too much alike for Gojyo's comfort – but his stance, attitude, and height made him difficult to miss.

Gojyo reached the inn and pushed his way through the doors, a smile returning to his face upon seeing the rest of the group already seated at one of the nearby tables. His steps instantly became lighter as he walked over to the square table, sitting on Sanzo's right side and across from Hakkai.

Sliding down in his chair, he felt a hand delicately brush his leg and looked up into violet eyes. The casual observer wouldn't have been able to tell, but the priest's expression was that of barely-contained lust.

One of Gojyo's eyebrows arched in approval. '_Nice, looks like he's changed his mind about tonight_.' All thoughts of the bar had vanished and were it not for his objecting stomach, he would've tossed Sanzo over his shoulder and dragged him upstairs as quickly as possible.

"Since we're all here now," Hakkai suggested, "I guess we can get started."

"WAI! ITADAKIMASU!!!" Goku shouted the ritual phrase loud enough to make several other guests look over at him, but the boy didn't even notice. He dug right into the food that had just been placed on the table with an impressive vigor.

Sanzo looked down at his own plate, pushing a bit of food around and actually eating a little of it for a change.

'_Wow, another improvement… he's skinny enough as it is._' Gojyo continued to steal glances at him throughout the meal, but not so often that he forgot his normal job of swiping food from Goku's plate and generally rough-housing with the boy.

After the meal, he and Sanzo went upstairs to their room. Gojyo had just shut the door behind him when a pair of lips pressed tightly against his own.

"Mmmph…" Gojyo tried to reply, but Sanzo had him backed up against the door, urgently kissing him. The redhead attempted to assess the situation, but the more rational parts of his brain were shutting down once he picked up the sensation of Sanzo's hand slipping into his jeans.

He moaned and let his hands roam across Sanzo's back, cursing the thick fabric of the robe and desperately wanting to rip it off. The priest pulled back momentarily and their eyes locked, making Gojyo's breath catch. _'There's no mistaking it – he's definitely turned on now.'_

"I love it when you take control like this, sweetheart," Gojyo managed, gasping as pale hands tangled themselves in his hair, pulling their faces closer. A devious smile appeared on his face as his arms circled around Sanzo. "But then, I **also** love it when you let me handle things."

Quickly, before the blond could protest, he stepped forward, dragging Sanzo over to the bed. He sat Sanzo down on the edge of the mattress and Gojyo got to work. _'Now for those pesky robes.'_ As soon as he considered it, the clothing fell to the floor.

'_**This** is more like it,'_ he thought. The increasing lack of clothes was serving only to get him more aroused and, in his opinion, the noises Sanzo was letting out were sounding better and better.

He basically tore the rest of Sanzo's clothing off, only making sure to be delicate with the scripture, which curled up as soon as he removed it. Gojyo set it gently on the nightstand and returned to the task at hand.

Gojyo kissed his way down the taut muscles of Sanzo's abdomen, enjoying the low moan he received for his efforts. Sanzo's hands fisted in his hair, shoving his head lower and lower to his eventual destination. Gojyo knelt down at the edge of the bed and spread his lover's legs, tongue darting out to taste the tip of Sanzo's erection.

"Nngh…" Sanzo bit down on his lower lip, squirming as Gojyo planted kisses on the inside of his thighs, the gentleness causing a tickling sensation. The redhead returned to his main target, licking and sucking softly enough to drive the blond mad. Then, it was a little deeper and harder, until the priest was moaning louder and gripping locks of red hair so hard that Gojyo was sure his scalp would ache later. '_Not that it matters right now.'_

Sanzo panted as Gojyo pulled away, wiping his mouth. "That was just the beginning, Sunshine," he remarked, gently pushing Sanzo onto his back, keeping his legs spread. "You know how much I hate to get left out of the fun."

-+-

About an hour later, when the two had finally had their fill of one another for the night, Gojyo untangled his body from Sanzo's and slowly got dressed. He could see the blonde's chest rising and falling slowly, indicating that for once, he was in a deep sleep.

After getting dressed almost all the way, Gojyo looked back one last time at Sanzo peacefully sleeping. The priest twitched and rolled over into the place where Gojyo had been lying, unconsciously taking over the warm spot. For once, he looked like an actual 24-year old, instead of the hardened, worldly monk Gojyo had been traveling with for so long. The lines in his face had softened and he was almost smiling as he slept. Sanzo buried his face in the pillow, murmuring something nonsensical before rolling completely onto his stomach.

Gojyo's chest suddenly ached. He'd never stopped to watch any of his former lovers sleep before and here Sanzo looked so utterly content, so… at peace. He leaned over before he realized what he was doing and stroked Sanzo's hair gently. The only emotion that filled him at the moment was amazement that he had been given a chance with this beautiful man, that he was needed and wanted and loved, and that he was privy to a side of Sanzo the rest of the world never got to see.

"I love you so much," he whispered, drawing his face closer so he could inhale that wonderful scent that made Sanzo unique, cigarettes and sex and incense and so many other things he could never adequately describe. "So much—you don't even know."

He smirked, pulling back. If Sanzo had been awake, Gojyo could imagine exactly what would've come out of his mouth. Some snide comment about how Gojyo was going mushy on him, or how romantic declarations were for girls and the hopeless.

'_Maybe that's what I am. Hopeless. When it comes to you, at least_.' He picked up his jacket from the floor and slipped it on. "I'll be back," he told the sleeping priest, his voice barely audible. "Just gotta go talk some sense into the guy tailing me."

As the door closed, Sanzo shifted on the bed again, eyes opening the tiniest bit at the sound. He let out a soft sigh and sunk back into the pillow. "Damn it, kappa…"

-+-

Doku paced at the edge of town, just where the forest began, ignoring the sleeping dragon at his feet. _'I really should be returning to the castle,' _he thought, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He'd come out all this way to talk to Gojyo and had completely failed in that endeavor. If nothing else, though, he'd had his suspicions confirmed.

There was a tree conveniently placed right outside the inn that, once scaled, gave a direct view of the room Gojyo and the priest were sharing. Doku had felt like a horrible intruder as he hid in the branches and saw the two men embracing, kissing, removing clothes… The youkai had turned redder than he'd ever been before and slid back down the trunk, before things got even worse or he was discovered.

It was wrong, but Doku couldn't help feeling a bit left out. '_You'd think this was something important that brothers should discuss with each other, wouldn't you? But, come to think of it, that does seem rather stupid. As if Gojyo would just come up to me, out of the blue, and say: "Hey, Aniki, I just started sleeping with the leader of my group, thought I'd let ya know_."_ Yeah, right_,' Doku thought.

He picked up heavy footsteps and froze, glad that he was still wearing his limiter in case a human stumbled upon him. A figure stepped into the clearing and Doku blinked a few times. "Gojyo."

The redhead laughed and shifted his weight onto his back foot. "Hey there, Stalker-san." He put a hand on his hip and stared at his older brother with purpose. "Mind explaining why you've been following me around all day? Normally, I'd be up for a little sparrin', but sneakin's just not your strong point. What's up?"

Doku looked at the dragon, which had awoken at the sound of Gojyo's voice, and then back up. "It's… complicated." He took a deep breath. He had planned everything out, but at the moment of truth, he found himself unable to speak. "Wanna discuss it over a beer?"

There was a small pause and then Gojyo's laughed echoed through the trees. "Hell yeah, man. Why not?"

Doku made sure the dragon was still securely tied to its tree and the two brothers made their way back into town in relative silence. Gojyo stared at the buildings as they passed and Doku concentrated on the dirt road. Finally, they reached their destination: the second of the town's two bars and the one that Gojyo hadn't been in earlier. They were seated in a booth in a far corner and were served right away.

Gojyo took a big gulp of his beer before pressing further. "So, you said you'd explain. You on another sutra-snatching mission? Where's your pretty boy prince?"

Doku tried his best to look disapproving. "He has a name, but that's not why I'm here. I'm here because I'm worried about you, Gojyo."

"Oh-ho." Gojyo leaned back, raising the mug to his lips. "_Oniisama_ is concerned for my well-being. I'm touched by your thoughtfulness."

"I'm being serious, Gojyo." Doku leaned forward, ignoring his drink for the moment. "There have been rumors about your group floating about the palace and I see now that they're not entirely unfounded."

"Rumors?" Crimson eyes narrowed. "What kind of rumors?"

Brown eyes stared straight back. "That you and one of your teammates are, shall we say, getting a little too close for comfort."

Gojyo blinked, alcohol entirely forgotten. When he realized the pause was too long, he forced a laugh. "What are you talking about? Of course I'm 'too close' to the others… we spend twenty-four hours a day together." He was vaguely aware that he'd begun to sweat.

"You know what I'm talking about – you and that priest. Not many know now, but do you have any idea what could happen if the **wrong** people find out? Playing with your emotions is the **best** case scenario here."

'_Shit_.' Gojyo sat up, eyes darting down to the table. "That's… not going to happen. I'm in control of the situation."

"Are you sure?" Doku's voice had dropped and Gojyo could sense the apprehension rising in his tone. "Are you telling me right now that if something happened… if someone kidnapped, injured, or tortured your priest… that you would be perfectly rational about it?"

Gojyo's throat tightened. The thoughts entered his head despite his best efforts to keep them away … Sanzo, tied up, beaten or violated. A wave of nausea swept over him. No, he refused to think of those things.

'_But he's just a human, after all. Sanzo's been hurt so many times before…_'

The redhead slumped over in his seat. "I hate you." A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and Gojyo looked up to see Dokugakuji staring steadily at him.

"I'm sorry," Doku whispered. "I just wanted you to think of those sorts of hazards. I do care about you, whether you believe it or not, and if you've found happiness, I don't want you to lose it." He let his hand rest there for a few moments and Gojyo shoved him off as his eyes began to sting.

"Well," Gojyo attempted with a wry smile. "What the hell do you suppose I do?"

Doku sighed. "It'd be kinda pointless to tell you to break it off. You wouldn't do that anyway…"

"Do you have any idea how hard I worked to **get through** to him in the first place?"

"Right." Doku took a swig of his beer, contemplating. "The two of us have so few precious things in our lives that we need to hold on to everything we've got. As long as you keep it discrete, there shouldn't be any harm in it."

Gojyo snorted. "Yeah, like I wouldn't be shot dead if I decided to scream it to the world." He paused, looking like he wasn't sure about going on. "Besides the fact that it's **Sanzo**," he emphasized, "Do you care that I'm with… a guy?"

Doku answered right away with a smile. "No. Gojyo, whoever you end up with, I could care less as long as you're happy and you guys are good to each other. I don't really know what you see in that uptight, trigger-happy monk, but I can tell you're really in love with him. You've been way too giddy for your self-proclaimed cool reputation."

"Me? Giddy?" Gojyo pretended to be upset at that. "You make me sound like a schoolgirl with her first crush!"

"Oh?" Doku raised an eyebrow. "You mean you aren't, Gojyo-_chan_?"

"You're just as bad!" Gojyo insisted. He rested his elbow on the table and put his chin on the palm of his hand. "Maybe it's a genetic thing… I mean, we both seem to have a thing for those 'leader' types."

"What- what are you talking about?" Doku had paled visibly.

"Oh, don't be so coy," the younger of the brothers said. "I see the way you look at that Kougaiji. Just something about a guy in charge, isn't it? It must be the power that we go after."

It was at that point an extremely embarrassed Dokugakuji decided to order a round of something **much** stronger.

-+-

They returned to the hotel after about an hour of catching up, Doku taking special interest in Gojyo's pursuit of the priest, anything to take the focus away from some very discomforting observations the redhead had been making.

They stood on the porch, silent for the first time since they'd started. Doku shifted back and forth, unsure of how to say goodbye, under the circumstances.

Gojyo lit a cigarette and stuck it between his lips. "Thanks for the drinks, Aniki," he offered, putting his hands in his pockets. "I appreciate the company sometimes."

Doku smiled in return. "I'm glad I got to talk to you, Gojyo. We should do this more often."

"Yeah, if only we weren't… what's the word? Oh yeah, 'enemies.' " Gojyo winked.

That made Doku laugh. He felt a little less self-conscious. "Someday, when all this crap is over, regardless of who wins, I wanna talk to your Sanzo in person. As your big bro, I gotta make sure he's gonna take care of you."

Gojyo batted his eyelashes, once again delving into mock-admiration. "You're so manly, to try and protect my innocence." They both laughed again, knowing full well there wasn't an innocent bone in Gojyo's body.

Doku happened to glance up to the second story of the hotel, where he saw a silhouette standing against one of the windows. "Looks like Baldy's impatient. I won't keep you."

When he looked back down, he was surprised to see that Gojyo had stuck his hand out. Doku gripped it firmly and they shook. "Night, then."

Gojyo disappeared inside the inn as soon as they let go and Doku headed down the main street back to the forest. '_Gojyo's still a good kid after all these years_,' he thought. '_There might be nothing to worry about, after all.'_

-+-

Seiran looked in disgust at the human, but tried to disguise it. As much as he might dislike the man sitting at the computer, it was better than looking at that sickening half-breed he'd been spying on for the past few months, and money was money. "So you wanted the footage and nothing else? Perverted creature, it seems."

"I don't believe I paid for your opinion," a deep voice replied, tone obviously bored. "I'm not going to watch it for the content like some rabid fangirl." A computer hummed to life and as Seiran's eyes adjusted, he saw equipment he figured was being used in Gyuumaoh's revival. "The mere fact that Genjyo Sanzo and Sha Gojyo are lovers is going to be very useful in the future."

Seiran's lips twitched with a superior smile. "At least I'm not alone in that thought."

The man swiveled his chair around, away from the youkai to face the computer screen. A stuffed rabbit rested next to the monitor, glassy eyes glowing from the light. "What do I always say? Better to hold on to what's precious, you know?"

For some reason, the youkai found that incredibly amusing. He continued to laugh to himself in the dark.

-Owari?-


	2. One: Mask

A/N: First of all, a huge thanks to my beta, Shin-no-nekochan, since I forgot to credit her in the prologue. I always appreciate all the help, even if I whine about having to fix so many things. Also thanks to all the people who have reviewed so far! I'm so glad to see that people like it already and I hope it will continue to get even better.

Special Notice: I think I've figured out that our kappa likes water. **Really** likes it. First the onsen and now this.

Chapter 1: Mask

It turned out that Doku had been right after all. Gojyo returned to the room he was sharing with Sanzo only to discover the priest dressed in only his black shirt and jeans, leaning against the window frame, staring out at the main street of the town and holding a cigarette. He seemed lost in thought when Gojyo closed the door, not even reacting to the sound.

The redhead approached the window, for once managing to keep himself from embracing the blond. "Waiting up for me, beautiful?" He placed himself right behind Sanzo and reached around him to stub out his own cigarette in the ashtray on the windowsill. He brushed up against the other man's arm, taking notice of the way the priest shuddered at the touch. It was amusing to Gojyo sometimes, having a lover with such sensitive skin.

Sanzo took a long drag and put his out as well.

Gojyo had been contemplating lighting up again, but realized that Sanzo was hesitating on purpose. _'Seems like every time he's gonna say something important to say 'bout these kinda things, he's always gotta deliberate on it for an eternity.'_ Gojyo, on the other hand, would rather be upfront about anything that was bothering him. '_But I guess Sanzo works in mysterious ways_.'

Finally, the blond turned around and faced him, arms crossed over his chest. "I think we need to talk about something."

'_Uh-oh, "we need to talk,"'_ Gojyo thought with a hint of worry. It was such a cliché line, but Sanzo didn't joke around. He briefly ran over the events of the past twenty-four hours in his head, trying to figure out what he might have done wrong this time.

Sanzo stared down at the floor. "What the hell are we doing, Gojyo?"

The kappa blinked. "Talking, like you said-" He was stopped by a frustrated sigh.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, dumbass. I want to know why we're doing this – this **relationship**." The word was uttered with barely concealed loathing. "It's been who-knows how long already and you've been taking it extremely seriously."

' "_Extremely" sucks_,' Gojyo mused internally. '_We really oughta get a new word_.' (1) When he realized Sanzo was expecting an answer, he coughed. "Two months, three days. That's how long, just so you know."

At the glare he received, Gojyo knew that wasn't the answer Sanzo wanted. "Fine, fine," he started, waving his hands in the priest's general direction. "I guess we'll have our little relationship counseling. You want me to get Hakkai?"

"We don't need to involve anyone else in this. I want to hear it from you directly."

Red eyes flashed indignantly. "What I don't get is what you want me to say - other than that I love you. I mean, what other reason is there to have a relationship? You're thinking about it too hard."

As Sanzo looked back over his shoulder, Gojyo could see that he was a bit surprised. "It's usually an excuse, right?" he said incredulously. "Saying 'I love you' is just a way to justify sex."

'_Boy, he can be so dense sometimes_.' Gojyo dared not voice that out loud. "Seriously, haven't we gone over this a million times before? Why do you keep questioning me?"

The priest shifted from one foot to the other, eyes fixated on a spot on the floor near Gojyo's feet. "Not saying it's bad… If it's purely sexual, that's fine. I don't need a pretense. I'd just like to know, that's all." '_Why did I bring this up? He'll be all over me. I should've just pretended to be asleep._

'_But when Gojyo went off into that… whatever-it-was a few hours ago, about how he loved me, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Damn it, he's probably infected me with his stupid._' Momentarily ignoring Gojyo to sort out what was going on in his head, Sanzo continued to stare at the ground, violet eyes unnaturally vibrant. He licked his suddenly dry lips, not really knowing where he wanted to take the conversation.

"Only sexual?" Gojyo scoffed, digging into his pockets for another cigarette. He could already tell this would take a while. '_At least he looks adorable when he's uncertain like this._' He decided to let out a small laugh to lighten the mood. "Oh, don't you only wish. I've said it lots of times before an' I'll keep sayin' it; I love you and I won't give up on you, no matter **how** stubborn you continue to be."

"…" Sanzo chose not to reply, a whole surge of conflicting options running though his head. Closing his eyes, he heard the redhead's voice echoing in his head: '_I love you so much. So much…_' It was frustrating the blond beyond belief how much a simple phrase like that was messing with him.

When Sanzo opened his eyes, Gojyo had lit up and taken a seat on the bed. **Their** bed. The one they'd shared that evening already, where Gojyo had kissed and touched and held him. The bed where he'd cried out in pure bliss, not caring if he meant anything to the other man, just grateful to be desired like that. Like all the times when they'd spent the night together, he'd been so relieved to let down his guard for those few fleeting minutes… The only drawback tonight had been the doubts that overwhelmed him once the redhead had left. He remained where he stood, waiting to see if Gojyo would continue. Sanzo wondered if maybe he'd let him forget it'd ever been brought up.

'_Gojyo? Letting something go? Not likely.'_

"Actually," the kappa began again, making Sanzo moan inwardly. "I should be the one talkin' to **you** about relationships, if anythin'." He paused to inhale and upon seeing the smoke dissipate in the air after he exhaled, Sanzo wanted another cigarette, too.

"I never know what you're thinkin', what you want, how you want it." Gojyo chuckled to himself again. "Seriously, you're as hard to read as a woman."

Sanzo bristled. '_He did not just call me a woman_.' "What?" The word came out as a snarl.

The crimson eyes showed no fear. '_He can yell at me all he wants, but those tactics are best reserved for someone like Goku. I'm never intimidated by his warnings and death threats. Guess you could say it's a unique quality that makes me difficult to push away.'_

"It's been over two months since I kissed you for the first time…"

Sanzo fought to keep the image from coming back. He'd been a fool then, to let the _erogappa_ hold him so gently and make him weak. He was **still** a fool, even now; nothing had changed.

Gojyo didn't notice the internal struggle going on behind the purple eyes. "In that two months or so, you've never **once** told me that you loved me." He gestured a bit with the remainder of the cigarette, tracing the air with smoke circles. "Now, I **personally** don't need reassurance every five seconds, y'know, but it's nice to hear it every once in a while."

Sanzo found his voice once more. "But… it's really unnecessary." '_Of course it is. If you say something that much, it loses meaning. He's probably said 'I love you' to every person he's ever shared a bed with_.'

"Says you." Gojyo's voice brought Sanzo back to the present yet again. "I **like** telling the person I'm with that they mean something to me. Physical touch, verbal expressions –" He grinned up at his lover, once again trying to reassure the blond. "Ya gotta learn it sometime. Why would it be unnecessary?"

In Gojyo's mind, there was no logical argument to this. Even if it was only a one-night stand, he'd always tried to make the other person feel special and cared for. As much as he loved sex – which was a **lot**, anyone could attest to it – just hugging your lover, holding their hand, whispering endearments, and so many other things made life all the better. To not enjoy such things was an incredibly foreign idea to him.

In Sanzo's mind, there was a **perfectly** logical argument for this. Words were not to be thrown around lightly, in his opinion, which was why he always deliberated over what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth. The wrong words were an easy way to commit yourself to something undesirable, a bad situation with no escape.

'_But is this such a bad situation?_' another part of Sanzo's mind inquired. It instantly sent him images- memories of nights spent together with Gojyo. Pleasurable touches and thrilling whispers haunted him; he had to push them away with force to be able to think at all.

Love was a very unnatural concept for Sanzo and he preferred to be an expert on any subject he discussed. However, this was, to him, more akin to walking into a minefield blindfolded. Thus, his words eventually came out harsh and awkward.

"If you're with someone," he began, "then the feeling should already be understood. Saying it aloud makes it trite… It sounds so insincere." Sanzo immediately regretted his choice of words when he saw the hurt expression on Gojyo's face. '_Great, he's gonna take it personally._'

The concerned look he'd been sporting and the laughter he'd been using to try and lighten the mood until now disappeared with a snort. "Excuse me for being **trite**, then," the redhead said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I can't believe this. I tell you that everyday, but you act like even saying it at all will kill you. Loving someone doesn't make you any less of a man."

"This is stupid." Sanzo wanted to escape, but he had nowhere to go. He had a feeling the other two were expecting them to be sharing a room from now on and it wasn't like Sanzo had lost enough of his dignity to go knocking on Hakkai and Goku's door begging for a place to stay. "Why is this even an issue?"

"Look," Gojyo attempted to reason, "You were the one who wanted to talk. So, let's talk." He propped himself up on the bed by his hands, having disposed of the cigarette. He leaned back and waited.

'_I hate it when he calls me out like this… not like I don't do the same to him._' Sanzo mused over that. '_I guess maybe we're good for each other in that way—dammit, no! It's all the kappa's fault that my thoughts are screwed up like this.'_

He chose once again not to answer. Silence was usually most helpful in bad turnouts like this one. Most of the time, whoever Sanzo had been arguing with got tired of his silent treatment and conceded.

Gojyo was not one of those people.

"I could give you a **million** reasons why I love you," he began as his vision focused on the ceiling. His tone came out somewhat melancholy. "But it wouldn't matter. I could make love to you **right** here, **right** now, but it wouldn't matter. For **whatever** reason, you won't believe me. I'll still stick with you all the way, but I thought you would at least accept it at some point."

"Just… stop." Sanzo felt sick- sick and lonely and angry with himself. What he found strangest was that mixed in with that sorry mess of emotions was his recently discovered – and now extremely demanding – sexuality, the effects of which were drawing on two months' worth of memories and murmuring suggestions about what to do with Gojyo just leaning on that bed like that.

"You're the one who brought it up and now you wanna drop it," Gojyo stated plainly, looking up as Sanzo walked over to the bed, leaning overtop of him. "What? You gonna keep starin' at me?"

'_I'm weak,_' the priest thought as he climbed into Gojyo's lap. The redhead made a noise of surprise, but Sanzo stopped him with a kiss. '_Tenkai help me, but I want him._'

Long arms wrapped around him, pulling Sanzo closer. Their mouths felt magnetically drawn to each other and they met again and again. '_I want him. I want to accept it. Why doesn't he just **know**? **I** know._'

Gojyo knew Sanzo was only distracting him from finishing the conversation. For the time being, though, he didn't mind.

-+-

Upon his return to Houtou Castle the following morning, Dokugakuji noticed something was a bit off. Even if he didn't know most of their names, he recognized a majority of the guards and staff, but none of them looked familiar right now. Servants were talking in hushed whispers and scattered upon seeing him. He decided not to concern himself with it and continued looking for Kougaiji.

Doku found him about where he was expecting. Pushing open the door to Rasetsunyo's chambers for a quick glance, he was relieved to see his prince standing before the marble wall that his mother had been sealed in. Kougaiji stared at her with purpose, a silent promise emanating from his eyes and leaving Doku in awe of how purely regal the other man was, without even trying. He was every inch a noble, more so than Gyuumaoh's concubine could ever hope to be.

"Ah, Dokugaku, you've returned," Yaone spoke from behind him, making him jump. He looked back and saw the female youkai standing there, Lirin in tow. "I was just going to check on Kougaiji-sama myself. He's been down here for a while now."

"Oniichan went in there a few hours after you left and he's been in there **forever**," Lirin emphasized, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot a little. When both Yaone and Doku looked at her, the princess felt a little sheepish. "Sorry, I know that Oniichan doesn't get to see his mom a lot. We should wait for him."

"No need." All three looked up to see Kougaiji striding across the room to the entrance, meeting up with them. "Thanks for your concern anyway." He ruffled Lirin's hair affectionate and she giggled.

Doku smirked. '_Gojyo doesn't know what he's saying. Just because you acknowledge a guy's a good leader… and compassionate… and handsome… doesn't mean… Wait, what?_' He blinked a few times and shook his head. '_Damn him for putting those ideas in my mind!_'

Kougaiji looked at him oddly for a moment before clearing his throat and addressing the group. "I think it's time we planned another attack on the Sanzo-Ikkou. That Gyokumen Koushu," he said, not bothering to hide the distaste in his tone, "is becoming more demanding about collecting the scriptures. She's not satisfied that we only have two of the five and wants us to go after the Maten-kyo again."

"Always what that witch wants," Doku replied dismissively. "If she wants her damn sutras so bad, why doesn't she go out and get them herself?"

"It's fine, Dokugaku," Kougaiji said. He looked down at Lirin and then back at his mother once more. "The sooner I finish that task, the sooner Mother is free. Then, we don't have to worry about that sorry group of travelers any more." With that, he walked past Yaone out the door, the ends of his long hair blowing upward in the breeze his movements caused.

"Wai! We're gonna go see Baldy Sanzo!" Lirin threw her arms in the air and rushed after her older brother, leaving Doku and Yaone alone in the room.

"How was--" Yaone began, but Doku cut her off, stepping into the doorway.

"I had a nice talk with the brat, if that's what you mean. Nothing else to it. Oh," he added, turning back to look at her fully. "Your 'friend' says hi."

"My what?" Yaone looked confused.

Doku sighed, but offered her a smile. "Your man in the green you've been talking to lately. He 'sends his regards' or somethin' fancy like that." He then winked, trying not to laugh at the deep blush spreading across the girl's cheeks.

Doku thought that Gojyo was way off base if he picked his own brother as the one falling in love. '_There's definitely something else going on here… whether those two healers ever admit it or not_.'

-+-

"Nngh…" Gojyo moaned as he felt the sunlight poke through the curtains and hit his eyes. Even with them closed, he could see the brightness. He rolled from his back to his left side, away from the window, and curled up against the warmth in bed next to him.

'_Oh, right, Sanzo…_' The redhead sighed contentedly and wrapped his arms around his lover, burying them both in the blankets and pulling Sanzo back to spoon against him. The priest muttered something in his sleep and pushed back against Gojyo, skin touching skin in a comforting way to the redhead.

Gojyo contented himself with closing his eyes and pressing his nose to Sanzo's hair, inhaling the soft natural scent that never failed to put him at ease. They hadn't had sex anymore that night, but sometimes there were better ways to be satisfied. They'd curled up in bed together, Gojyo kissing Sanzo breathless, until they pulled apart, too exhausted to do anything else but get changed and call it a night.

He looked at the sleeping blond in his embrace, once again marveling at how different Sanzo looked while asleep. Gojyo wanted to see that peaceful expression sometime when the guy was actually awake. The kappa ran his fingertips down Sanzo's side, curving over his hip and then on to his right thigh. In return, he got a tired moan and brilliant amethyst eyes slowly opened.

'_Heh, he's so cute when he's sleepy_.'

"Gojyo?" Sanzo's throat sounded dry and the priest coughed a few times. "What's—"

Gojyo nipped a bit at Sanzo's neck, sending chills through the blond. The kappa was affected as well – the fact that he hadn't had sex last time hit him hard, making a relatively normal act a turn-on. "Time to get up. Think you said something about getting on the road 'as early as possible,' which in Sanzo-speak is generally the crack of dawn, right?"

"Mmph…" Sanzo pulled the covers around his neck, settling down in the warmth of the mattress and Gojyo's arms. "Five more minutes." He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the fact that he could feel Gojyo's arousal pressing against his lower back, even through the jeans the priest had been sleeping in. '_Damn kappa just **had** to sleep naked last night, didn't he?_'

The redhead was now propping himself up a little bit, leaning forward to touch Sanzo's earlobe with his tongue. "I know you're Mr. Low-Blood-Pressure and all in the morning, but come on. We're up early enough to have a little fun," Gojyo whispered suggestively, hands resting on Sanzo's stomach while he continued to give the priest's ear his full attention.

Despite his best efforts, Sanzo let out a groan. Suddenly, the normally comfortable jeans were getting tighter. One of the kappa's hands drifted dangerously close and backed away at the last second, frustrating Sanzo unexpectedly. "Fine," he murmured back, now realizing his lover's hands were toying with the waistband of the pants.

At that moment, Gojyo sat up, throwing back the covers and planting his feet on the floor. Sanzo blinked and looked at him questioningly, but the redhead just smirked and stood up, making his way to the bathroom.

Noticing the emptiness of the bed and his sex drive sufficiently provoked, Sanzo didn't wait too long to force himself out of bed and follow.

Once he entered the bathroom, Sanzo saw the shower was turned on and that the redhead was in it. Gojyo was naked, like he'd been in bed, but upon seeing the deep red hair already soaked and water streaming down the kappa's chest and stomach, the priest stopped dead. He took in the nude form in front of him, lean and muscled and on display only for his eyes.

'_Holy shit_,' Sanzo thought, but he was barely able to focus on anything other than Gojyo, due to the lust that was surging through his lower body.

Gojyo leered right back, thrilled to see the way Sanzo was reacting to him. "How 'bout you lose those jeans and get in here?"

Sanzo did so immediately and then they were both in the shower, waiting for the water to get a little warmer. It didn't take too long and Gojyo pressed Sanzo up against the wall of the shower as a light mist fell over them.

Gojyo's actions were surprisingly harmless to Sanzo: slow, lingering kisses in addition to the wonderful feel of rubbing up against each other in an equally slow manner. Gojyo's hands were in their usual spot – Sanzo's hips – and the priest had wrapped his left arm around the kappa's waist and his right hand was resting on Gojyo's left cheek, only lightly brushing the scars.

"Mmm…" Gojyo breathed, planting a kiss on Sanzo's forehead, right on the chakra. "You do not have any right to be this sexy; it's just not fair. I couldn't resist you if I tried."

The blond only moved his hand to the back of Gojyo's head in response. Sanzo could never fully explain it, even to himself, but he could never get enough of those fiery red strands, continually marveling at the color sliding through his fingers. He'd always thought secretly that it looked like wine, especially when it was wet. He shuddered as Gojyo's hands slid further down on his hips, around to cup him and pull him closer.

There was another slow kiss, deep and erotic and breathtaking. Sanzo's heart was thundering in his chest and a voice in his head was daring him to do something, go further.

His left hand dropped from the kappa's waist, lower until he was gripping Gojyo. The redhead gasped at the touch, but allowed it, moaning as Sanzo began to stroke him. The blond was using all the movements he remembered Gojyo using on him and they seemed to be working. Gojyo rocked into his hand uncontrollably, words of encouragement uttered between kisses.

Sanzo didn't want to let go. His other hand was still in Gojyo's hair, keeping the other man's body close to him. His own arousal continued to demand attention, but for once, the priest was unconcerned about his own pleasure. He kept looking into crimson eyes darkened with lust and felt a thrill of power at being able to make the kappa look at him that way – to make Gojyo need him.

Sanzo's left hand kept working and Gojyo's moans were turning to cries when, all of a sudden, the blond pulled back. The redhead looked dazed at the lack of touch, but understood when Sanzo started to turn around, eyes silently telling him what to do.

Gojyo felt like he was going to burst. First, with Sanzo driving him nuts just **being** and, now, with his unusual forwardness, he didn't think things could get any better. "Sanzo…" he whispered in awe, helping the blond spread his legs and preparing him.

"Just… do it." Sanzo gasped when the kappa inserted a finger. Sanzo then began pushing himself back on it as he placed his palms on the wall of the shower.

It only took a minute or so before Gojyo was inside, groaning in relief at the contact. Sanzo continued to push back impatiently and it didn't take long before they were moving faster.

The sex itself was a blur for Gojyo, just a heat wave of pleasure and his vision filled with golden hair. He whispered it over and over again: "I **love** you." He emphasized it as much as he possibly could, not caring about the argument or Sanzo's stubbornness or anything but the here and now. "Sanzo… I… Ah!"

An intense wave of pleasure made his entire body shudder and when Gojyo regained control over himself, he felt Sanzo release and heard him let out a fulfilled sigh. They remained together a little bit longer before Gojyo slid away, turning up the heat of the water still raining down on them.

"Should we get ourselves cleaned up now?" he asked, gently kissing the blond on the nose. Sanzo closed his eyes and leaned towards him, resting against his chest contentedly. "Guess that's a yes," Gojyo decided with a soft laugh, wrapping Sanzo in his arms.

He was never going to let go. Ever.

-+-

"Goku… Goku, it's time to wake up." A gentle voice reached the boy's ears, followed by a soft "kyuu!" of agreement.

Golden eyes opened and then immediately squeezed shut at the bright sunlight streaming through the window. '_Bright… Like when Sanzo found me…_'(2) Goku jerked up with that thought, conscious in a mere instant.

Hakkai was standing over Goku's bed, fully dressed with Hakuryu perched on his left shoulder. "If you don't hurry, they'll serve breakfast without you."

'Breakfast' was the magic word. Goku bolted for the bathroom immediately, making the healer chuckle, _'If there's one way to get Goku moving in the morning, it's the promise of food.'_

He set to work making the boy's bed while Goku took his shower. Hakkai was well aware the inn staff normally did such things, but he always preferred to leave things in the condition he'd found them.

Hakuryu had fluttered over to the other bed and began cleaning himself in the meantime. The little dragon had been so exhausted that evening that he'd slept like a rock in bed next to his favorite person.

Hakkai always found the deep sighs quite cute.

Their room's shower turned off with a squeak and Hakkai listened, still hearing running water next door. It had been on for about half an hour now and, along with a few other suspicious sounds, he figured Gojyo and Sanzo wouldn't be ready for a while yet.

'_I wonder what time Gojyo got in last night,_' he wondered, pulling his bag up on his own bed and gathering his things. Hakuryu watched intently. '_I'll have to ask him later what Dokugakuji-san wanted. Perhaps something's going to happen soon._'

Hakkai frowned at that thought, still standing in front of the bed. Even though the Ikkou and Kougaiji's group were technically enemies, it wouldn't be that unusual for one team to warn the other if they had something to look out for. Another plausible explanation could be that the prince and his friends were in trouble again. There seemed to be quite a bit of infighting on Gyuumaoh's side.

Hakkai shook the thoughts from his head before they turned to something else. He'd felt a little foolish after speaking to Dokugakuji, wondering if perhaps he'd gone too far in his 'friendly message.' '_No_,' he reassured himself, '_there's nothing wrong with saying hello to someone or wishing them well. No one would have any reason to read into it._'

The thought hadn't been helping his sleep or the nightmares he'd had last night, though; voices accusing him of betrayal, Kanan crying, memories of thunder and lightning and hopelessness in that godforsaken castle. '_I can't believe I'm thinking of those things at a time like this…_'

Goku emerged from the bathroom, hair dripping but still retaining its unusual spikiness. "Huh?" he mumbled, going over to the bed and waving his hand in front of Hakkai's face. The other man had frozen, holding a shirt in his hands and staring off at the wall. "You okay, Hakkai?"

"What?" Emerald eyes lost their glassy appearance and Hakkai focused on the tarnished gold of Goku's diadem. He couldn't lie looking the boy in the face. "Oh, I'm sorry, Goku. I was just off in my own world, that's all."

"Do they serve breakfast in that world?" Goku inquired. "Cuz if not, we gotta get downstairs."

The absurdity of it all caused Hakkai to laugh softly. "I suppose you're right."

Downstairs, Hakkai went ahead and ordered a few small items to tide Goku over while they waited for the other two. In addition, he requested some green tea for himself and was waiting on it to steep when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

Gojyo plopped down in a chair next to Hakkai and across from Goku, digging out a cigarette. He flagged down a waitress for some coffee before acknowledging the other Ikkou members at the table. "Mornin'."

"Good morning, Gojyo," Hakkai replied, adding a few more leaves to the hot water. "Did you have a pleasant sleep?" He didn't even have to turn to see the leer on his best friend's face.

Gojyo was almost glowing with pride. "Good sleep, good wake-up call… Guess I'm havin' a pretty awesome day so far." Gojyo mumbled a 'thank you' as the waitress arrived with his coffee. "Sanzo's still up there, doin' his hair or some shit. He said it was okay to start without him."

Seeing Goku's eyes light up, Hakkai decided it was best to find their waitress again. They were just being formally served when Sanzo descended the staircase, blurry eyes focusing intently on the coffeepot that had been left on their table.

"Welcome, Sleeping Beauty," Gojyo teased, handing his lighter diagonally across the table. Sanzo accepted it silently and proceeded to light up after pouring himself a cup. He took the bowl of rice lying in the center and put a small portion of it on his plate.

Hakkai gave a soft 'hmm' of approval. '_I don't know how Gojyo's doing it, but there's certainly no harm in Sanzo eating more._' His attention was caught momentarily as he heard a soft kyuu-ing in his ear. Hakuryu was looking down with anticipation at some of the meat on Hakkai's plate. He fed a few pieces to the dragon, nearly losing a finger in the process. '_He must've been hungrier than I thought.'_

Goku finished before anyone else, not surprisingly, even after consuming about twice as much as the rest of the group. He sat back, not begging the others for their leftovers for once and Hakkai saw his eyes darting back and forth between Sanzo and Gojyo, curious.

It was at times like this that Hakkai almost forgot that Goku wasn't supposed to 'know' what was going on. Even if the boy hadn't figured it out by now, the other two were almost acting like it didn't matter anymore. Gojyo openly flirted with Sanzo on a daily basis and Sanzo wasn't being as harsh with him as normal. They still bantered and tossed around insults, but the air between them was decidedly more casual. Hakkai almost wondered if Gojyo had forgotten Goku 'didn't know.' Sanzo had looked worried at first, but that look had passed by the next day.

Sanzo was next to finish. After about three cups of coffee, he looked more focused. "Let's pack up and get out of here. The next town is about ten hours away and I'd like to get there before the sun sets."

"Ten hours?" Gojyo moaned, stretching in his seat. "My ass hurts just thinkin' 'bout sittin' in Jeep that long."

"If it hurts to sit, you're welcome to walk the rest of the way," Sanzo replied. A hint of a smirk appeared on his face and Hakkai knew it was an opening to more teasing.

"How thoughtful of you, _kusobouzu_. If you didn't have such a pretty face-"

Goku coughed all of a sudden. Gojyo and Sanzo glanced at him, at the moment realizing where they were. Sanzo then looked away awkwardly and Gojyo lit another cigarette in silence.

"Well, at any rate," Hakkai cut in, pushing back from the table and standing up. "I'll go get our things from the room and get Hakuryu prepared outside."

"Kyuu!" the dragon agreed, curving his long neck down Hakkai's chest and pulling back his wings. The brunet then walked off, not even bothering to hide his amused smile. '_Love banter is a good source of entertainment, indeed.'_

-+-

Seiran may have been an elite youkai spy, but he rather hated fraternizing with the common soldiers. He had blended in easily as a private, but that didn't make it any easier to stand the youkai around him. To him, they were coarse, rude things that tended to only have food, booze, and sex on their minds. Still, in his mind, it was preferable in a dozen ways over having to spending more time with that human scientist.

'_Just what is he planning anyway?_' Seiran asked himself, thinking of the strange man. That smirk held something the spy couldn't place. The scientist displayed a rather childish attitude, but there was something empty and calculating behind it. Seiran made a mental note to himself to set a small trap around the lab once he returned and cause the human to have a minor 'accident.'

The only credit that Seiran could give the man was that he had his priorities straight at the moment. He considered that factor much unlike the youkai prince he officially served. _'He's an excellent fighter, but he has no training in espionage and thus doesn't know the best way to go about the problem. Kougaiji-sama takes things too personally and gets too involved in fieldwork. As the crown prince, he's making a big mistake. He should let trained youkai like me handle it… After all, what would we do if something happened to his father and he needed to ascend the throne?_'

'_It matters not,_' Seiran decided, trying not to recoil when a tall, filthy youkai walked past him, nearly knocking him down when their shoulders hit. '_As long as I return to Kougaiji-sama with the sutra, the method won't be important. Besides, if I make Genjyo Sanzo hand it over to me personally, that will be all the better—infinitely easier than trying to kill him or having to risk my own life._

'_Risking the life of his precious _hanyou_, however, is something I'd feel no guilt in doing.'_ Seiran fought to keep a straight face as a few youkai officers walked by. They'd been staked out here for a few days now by the time he'd joined them. The army had followed the path the Sanzo-Ikkou had been taking and was preparing to ambush them a few hours outside of their latest stop.

The spy felt a presence behind him and turned back to see three or four other troops standing there, staring straight at him. Seiran suddenly felt self-conscious. '_Hmm, they probably see how upper class I look. These thuggish-looking ones would probably not take too kindly to my presence_,' he noted.

"Haven't seen **you** here before," a lanky green-skinned youkai called out. Seiran figured him to have a reptilian background of some kind, based on that long tongue that kept darting out. "Are you sure you're in the right place? This is a battlefield, not a social club."

A lilac-skinned youkai standing next to him nodded in agreement, taking a few steps towards him and breaching Seiran's personal space. The spy stiffened as the other youkai leaned closer, reaching out a hand to try and grasp his hair. "You seem like you got a bit of an attitude, buddy. That's not gonna fly around here."

Seiran's eyes narrowed. "Get away from me, you disgusting—"

He was cut off as an officer rode past on his horse. "Enough talk. The advance scout just reported seeing the Sanzo-Ikkou's vehicle a few hundred yards away. Be ready." He didn't bother to stop the soldiers harassing Seiran because there were more important things on his mind at the moment.

At this announcement, some of the other men around Seiran prepared. A few summoned weapons, one or two were practicing element manipulation, but a majority were just flexing their claws and testing them on nearby trees.

Seiran almost couldn't believe it. '_Don't they know they'll all be slaughtered?_' He'd seen so many of the Ikkou's battles in the period he'd spied on them that he had almost no faith in stopping them with conventional fighting methods.

"What's your skill, newbie?" the green youkai from before asked, unsheathing his sword and letting the sunlight glint off the blade. He was obviously showing off.

Seiran moved a few feet away, anything to get the two to stop breathing on him. "I… know a bit of geokinesis. Nothing special." '_A lie, but it's unimportant as long as they lose sight of me_.'

"Guess we know why you got assigned to us," the purple one started to say, but suddenly a hush fell over the soldiers.

Seiran strained his eyes, but saw something green and blurry quickly approaching the forest where the army was stationed. "They're here…" he whispered to himself, now able to make out the four passengers in their vehicle.

His vision first focused on the sutra lying about the priest's shoulders, the flowing script meaningless from so far away, but forced his eyes to the half-breed sitting right behind the driver. '_You're my target, you revolting creature_.'

-To Be Continued-

(1.) "We need a new word." In the manga (and to a lesser extent in the anime), Gojyo and Sanzo have conversations about adverbs to use to describe things. "Excessively" and "abrasively" are just two former examples.

(2.) Frequently, Goku will wake up with flashes of being rescued from the cave. It usually serves to snap him awake very quickly.


	3. Two: Explosion

A/N: Thank you to everyone for your reviews! I am having some problem where FFN won't send updates and replies to my e-mail, so if you've sent me anything through here, I haven't been able to receive it. Also, please note that real life is calling me away in the form of 3 papers and 2 midterms, so unfortunately, I probably won't be able to update for a couple weeks. (bowing profusely) I'm sorry!

Chapter 2: Explosion

-2 Hours Earlier-

Hakkai's things were neatly stacked by the door and all that was left was a last minute check of the room to see if anything had been left behind. He looked over to the other bed to see how Goku was doing.

Goku had just been innocently packing up the last of his things. He zipped the bag up with a 'hmmph' of satisfaction when his head began pounding. The feeling was so sudden and unexpected that he nearly fell over from the intensity of the pain. His chest tightened and he realized what was going on.

Sanzo was **beyond **pissed.

Goku wasn't even in the same room and yet the headache was building up so fast, tears were stinging his eyes. Sharing an emotional connection with someone wasn't the best thing at times.

Even if the boy hadn't been able to feel his guardian's emotions, a few seconds later, furious shouting began on the other side of the wall. Both Sanzo and Gojyo's voices were raised, screaming at each other. Goku couldn't make out the words, but the ringing in his head told him what was going on.

Hakkai paused on his bed, where he had been tying his shoe. Hakuryu looked towards the wall, flattening his ears against his head. The shouting continued as the other three concentrated on what was being said.

"Seriously, what the **fuck**, Sanzo?! Where do you get off saying **that**?"

"Don't you **dare** start that with me, you piece of shit! I've **had** it with you!"

There was another ache in his chest. Goku winced. Something Gojyo had said or done had wounded Sanzo. Now, he was attempting to lash back.

Sitting up straight, Hakkai listened to what sounded like another typical argument for them. He hoped this one fizzled out as quickly as they normally did.

However, Gojyo kept going. "If you have a problem with me, tell it to my face instead of acting like a whiny little bitch, or do you even **know** how to do anything besides that?"

"If you don't shut your fucking mouth…"

"Oh, what? You'll shut it **for** me? Real original."

Sanzo replied with something too quiet for Hakkai and Goku to hear, but Gojyo's response confirmed that it had not been good.

"What did you just say, asshole? Don't tell the carpet, look me in the eye and say what you **just**. **Fucking. Said**."

Goku gripped his head right around the diadem. It felt way too tight. Sanzo was aching inside and the boy had no idea what was causing this. Sanzo and Gojyo fought all the time, but it never felt this bad and they usually got over whatever it was. This time looked to be different.

Noticing Goku's strange reaction to the fight, Hakkai wanted to move to aid him. What stopped him was the shock of hearing Sanzo's answer drifting over to the other room.

The priest must've felt bolder, the other two noticed, because there was a haughty laugh. "I said, 'I don't have to listen to a tagalong **half-breed** bastard.'"

Hakkai's mouth dropped open. '_Sanzo said that on purpose. He would __**never**__ call Gojyo that; he used to get angry with __**anyone**__ who made fun of Gojyo for his background, so why on earth—_'

To distract himself from crying in frustration, Goku grabbed one of his pillows and clenched it to his chest, folding his legs as he sat down on the bed. "Hakkai, it hurts. Make 'em stop!"

There was a forced laugh in response on the other side of the wall. "I see. This is what I get for tryin' to tell you that I love you? You think I've never heard **that** before? Ever since I was **born**, people've been usin' that to shit on me." Gojyo got a little quieter. "I just thought you were better'n that."

"Don't you try that guilt trip on me, fucker! I'm not better than anything! **You're** the one who forced yourself on me this whole time!"

'_No…_' Hakkai willed his body to get up, to go next door, break up the fight, but he couldn't move. He clenched his hands, debating with himself as to what whether he should barge in on them or leave it to them to work out. "Goku, I…"

Goku had taken to sniffling softly at the foot of the bed, still holding the pillow against his face. Hakuryu flapped over to him. The dragon kyuu-ed in concern and nudged the boy's arm, curling up on the sheets next to him since there was no room in Goku's lap.

"Is that what it was? Pretty hard to force a guy who begs me on a nightly basis to take him—"

"SHUT UP!" Sanzo roared.

Hakkai jerked, even though there was a wall separating them. Goku buried his head deeper into the pillow.

"I never wanted you on this goddamn journey, I never wanted you in my bed, and I **never** want to see your fucking face again!"

"Well, good luck with that, buddy, since I'm stuck with you!"

"GET OUT OF—LET ME GO!"

Hakkai's eyes widened again at the noise of struggling and grunts. Sanzo continued to snarl curses and Gojyo was fighting back with equal fury. There was a loud thud against the wall, along with more scuffling noises and banging.

"Hakkai, please…" Goku's whimper sounded even more pathetic.

The healer looked down to see his own hands shaking. "Goku, I'm sorry—"

"Fucking repressed **prick**!" Gojyo still attempted insults through his panting. "Go ahead and keep **shoving** everyone away like this! You're just gonna end up alone **just** like you wanted all along!" There was an aggravated moan in response, but the redhead wasn't stopping just yet. "I've **never **liked that shitty attitude of yours." Suddenly, his voice dropped and Hakkai had to strain to hear it. "No **wonder** you were still a virgin when—"

Suddenly, all noises from the other room stopped. Hakkai could hear the blood rushing in his ears. Goku poked his head up, looking worn. Hakuryu cheeped cautiously.

The very familiar click of a gun being cocked registered through the wall. If anything, the other two figured **that** had stopped Gojyo dead in his tracks. Sanzo's low voice could be heard once again.

"Never touch me again. Never say those words—"

"What, 'I love—"

The gun fired and Gojyo let out a cry of surprise, scrambling noises indicating the priest had missed. There was a pause and Hakkai swore he heard Sanzo's voice crack. "I had a few moments of weakness and I'll never allow you or anyone else to take advantage of me again. Now,** get out**."

"Sanzo…"

"I HATE YOU!" the priest screamed. "**GET! OUT!**"

Despite all his best efforts, the pain was too much for Goku; the pounding had turned into a severe migraine and he began to cry.

-+-

The Ikkou had piled into Jeep about ten minutes later, a tense silence surrounding them. Gojyo made a point of seating himself behind Hakkai, instead of behind the priest where he'd been content to position himself for the past few months. Sanzo just strapped himself into the front passenger seat, lighting a cigarette and staring off into the distance.

Goku's golden eyes moved back and forth, trying to gauge the situation between the blond and the redhead. He could practically smell anger and hatred hanging in the air. On top of it all, his headache hadn't gone away yet. Hakkai remained silent as well, pulling Jeep onto the main street and heading in the direction opposite their hotel without having to be told.

The first hour of driving passed in complete quiet with only the rumbling of Jeep on the terrain and the cheeping of birds overhead to remind Goku that he hadn't gone deaf. He tried not to squirm, tried not to engage Gojyo in roughhousing, for that would draw Sanzo's attention and his subsequent wrath. With the priest already angry beyond all reason at the kappa, Goku figured he wouldn't take very well to their typical time-killer.

At the hour and a half mark, according to the clock on Jeep's dashboard, Goku internally cursed as his stomach decided to break the silence with a growl. Breakfast seemed so long ago already, he reflected, a bit nostalgic for Gojyo teasing across the table and Sanzo smiling through a threat. '_Sanzo… smiling. That was __**so**__ not normal for him_,' Goku thought, '_but I liked it a __**ton**__ better'n this_.'

He felt eyes on him. Goku – Son Goku, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who feared no battle with beast nor god – scrunched in on himself to try and avoid the red that focused on him, along with the purple glancing at him through the rearview mirror. He feared for his very life.

Goku almost felt like dying of relief when he recognized the voice that called out to him as Hakkai's. "Are you hungry, Goku? I could hear your stomach all the way up here."

"No," he squeaked, wrapping his arms around his abdomen. "I'm good! Let's keep going." '_Sanzo's gonna get mad…_'

Gojyo spoke for the first time since breakfast. "Guess the world's comin' to an end if the monkey's not hungry," he said, the lack of emotion evident even to Goku.

The boy tried to plead with his eyes, appealing to the redhead. '_Don't say anythin', please don't make Sanzo angry…_'

"What? What're **you** lookin' at?" Gojyo demanded, leaning closer.

Goku wanted to hurt something. '_Stupid kappa, don't make it worse!_'

"Let's stop for a few minutes anyway," Hakkai suggested, glancing up in the mirror at the two in the backseat. "I'd like to stretch my legs."

There was a poorly suppressed growl from the front passenger seat. "I don't want to waste time. I thought you understood that, Hakkai." He then directed his voice behind him. "Stop fidgeting, monkey. It's getting on my nerves."

'_He didn't say anythin' about Gojyo,_' Goku realized. '_This is bad – __**totally**__ bad._'

Hakkai drove on for another five minutes. Then, he pulled Jeep off to the side of the road once it diverged through a small wooded area. He turned off the engine and got out, surveying the other three and ignoring the glare he was receiving from Sanzo. "It'll be another couple of hours, so it would be best to stretch or use the facilities, so to speak."

Sanzo didn't move, but Goku gladly jumped off the back of the vehicle, trying to put distance between himself and the unsavory combo of the surly priest and the seething kappa.

Gojyo moved to the edge of Jeep himself and slowly lifted his legs up and over before settling them on the ground. He then pushed up to a standing position. The whole thing appeared to Goku like he was purposely moving in this leisurely fashion.

"Figures that no one ever listens to me," Sanzo muttered, still glowering in Hakkai's general direction.

Goku looked over, awaiting a typical one-liner from Gojyo. The kappa was uncharacteristically silent; he simply smirked and walked off into the woods.

"Gojyo, please be cautious and don't go too far in," Hakkai called after him, looking at his friend's back disappearing into the foliage. "After all, it's extremely unwise to go too far into unknown territory."

"All right already!" Came the exasperated sigh. "Didn't think it was that big a deal to go off and piss. Do I need a hall pass, Sensei?"

Hakkai decided at that moment that he couldn't let this rift deepen anymore. He'd heard the stress evident in Gojyo's tone and was suddenly overcome with guilt. His best friend was obviously in pain and here he was, trying to pretend things weren't wrong. '_Why couldn't I have just forced my way in there?_' He sighed. '_I __**have**__ to stop letting my own selfish concerns override what's best for the group._'

The driver moved around to the back of Jeep to dig around in one of the packs. However, it was only a pretense to let him think more and examine the priest. Sanzo had not moved from his seat and continued to puff away on his Marlboro. Hakkai looked up to the rearview mirror, noting that he couldn't read any expression on Sanzo's face. It seemed that the priest wasn't the right person to start with, he decided.

Goku had run off in the opposite direction Gojyo went, but returned less than a minute later. Noticing that nothing had changed and that Gojyo was still gone, he scuffed his foot against the ground, feeling rather useless.

Hakkai stood up straight again, zipping up the bag. Sanzo was still not acknowledging anything or anyone around him. "Gojyo's taken quite a while. I'll go see if he's on his way back."

" 'Kay," Goku replied cautiously, glancing over at the blond.

"Whatever," Sanzo offered apathetically, dropping his current cigarette to the ground, where it fizzled and went out.

At Goku's worried expression, Hakkai bent down to the boy's level, placing a hand on each of his shoulders. "Don't worry," he whispered, glancing up to see that Sanzo couldn't hear what he was saying. "I'll go talk to Gojyo and then I'll see if I can't patch things up."

Goku attempted his first smile in what seemed like forever. " 'Kay!" He could barely keep his voice down, even when the healer raised a finger to his lips.

Hakkai then made his way along the path Gojyo had formed, taking note of the various broken branches and trampled greenery the redhead had left in his path. '_Angry stomping_,' he thought. It reminded him of a time back when they'd first started living together.

On that day, Gojyo had 'taken a walk,' acting like nothing was bothering him, but Hakkai later saw a wake of ruined foliage in their backyard where he'd gone off. 'Passive-aggressive' fit Gojyo only when he was deeply upset about something.

It didn't take much longer for the brunet to spot brilliant red from behind a tall bush. Rounding it, he saw Gojyo sitting on a rotting log, cigarette clamped between his lips and dazedly watching the smoke waft upwards. About three other butts were already extinguished down near his feet.

"Is it difficult to stay angry at him?" Hakkai questioned softly.

Gojyo didn't look over or even jump; he'd sensed Hakkai coming a few minutes ago and had decided to wait. "Oh, not at all. Anger's the easy part when it comes to a heartless bastard like him." He exhaled with a cloud of white smoke. "'S his own fault anyway."

Hakkai coughed as the wind changed and the smoke was blown over towards him. He moved closer and took a seat next to Gojyo on the log. "What happened to make him snap like that? Things seemed like they were going fine this morning." He stopped, focusing on a patch of grass just beyond their feet. "Did it have something to do with Dokugakuji-san's visit the other day?"

Gojyo blinked. "You knew about that?"

"Of course; he's rather terrible at spying."

There was a slight pause and then Gojyo laughed, harsh and barking. "True, very true. But nah, Aniki just wanted to chat. Nothin' for **him** to get worked up over." There was a quite deliberate omission of Sanzo's name.

Hakkai felt that he should gently steer the conversation back to a more important topic. "I'm just worried about the two of you – you and Sanzo, that is – on a bigger level. Tensions among teammates aren't good."

"Well, that ain't my problem," Gojyo replied, dropping the cigarette in the pile and digging for another one. "**He's** the one who's refusing to talk to **me**. I think I'll wait for His Holiness to take the stick outta his ass."

'_They're entirely too much alike – they share the same unbelievable stubbornness._' Hakkai sighed, but tried to prod anyway. "Do you honestly believe that waiting this out will work? I don't believe I've ever heard Sanzo apologize before."

"Don't know. Don't really care, either." Gojyo continued to let the stick dangle from his mouth. Both men were still staring out at nothing.

"Would it be too much to ask if you'd tell me what started it?" Hakkai inquired softly.

There was a long pause until Gojyo smirked and responded, "Yeah, it would be."

Hakkai stood up. '_If it's something he doesn't want to tell __**me**__, I know it's serious.' _There had to be a different angle, but at the present moment, he didn't see it. "I just want you to know," he said, looking straight down at his friend, "We heard you and Sanzo arguing. I understand some insensitive things may have been said—"

Gojyo stood up as well, finished with the current cigarette. "Everything that guy says is designed to cut someone down. If you think I'm out here mopin' about how the prick hurt my feelings, you couldn't be more wrong."

Hakkai turned back to the path they had taken, away from the redhead. "Even still…" he attempted. '_It doesn't seem like anything I can say will make any difference to them at this point. If only I had done something earlier…_'

'_Sorry, pal.'_ Gojyo thought, feeling bad for not being able to be upfront. '_But_ _this is somethin' between me an' th' monk_.' "Look, it's just somethin' I wanna work out, Sanzo 'n me. 'Kay?"

"That's fine." The healer smiled at the roundabout apology. '_He used Sanzo's name. It's a start._' "Well then, I wish you the best of luck in that endeavor."

Meanwhile, back by Jeep, Goku was still trying to figure out how best to approach Sanzo. '_Is there even anythin' I can say that won't get me shot_?' He finally just decided to be direct. He'd survived the blond's mood swings before; this would be nothing. "Naa, Sanzo?"

"I know you're hungry," the priest muttered, still sitting in the front seat, smoking and looking off through the windshield. "And I don't care."

" 'S not that," Goku tried, shifting back and forth a bit. '_Should I just try an' ask him how he's feelin'? Yeah, right, like Sanzo'd answer that—_'

"Get to the point if you have something to say."

Goku swallowed nervously. "Well, 's jus'…" He took a deep breath and the next sentence came out rushed, like it was its own word. "CanyoumaybemakeupwithGojyonowan'stopbein'allmoody?"

Sanzo paused, dropping his cigarette to the ground and lighting a new one. "Sorry, I don't speak 'Idiot.' "

The moment of truth had arrived. Goku clenched his hands into fists, preparing himself. '_I don't care if I'm not s'posta know_!' "Look, I don't care **why** you an' Gojyo had a fight, but it's makin' things **suck** an' you guys need t' kiss an' make up already!"

A moment of silence passed between the two. Goku wondered then if Sanzo was so fast that he'd already been shot and hadn't realized it, but then the priest spoke.

His voice was quiet and flat. "… What did you just say?"

Patting down his chest instinctively, Goku found no bullet holes. He took a few steps backwards…just in case. "I **know** you guys're together an' I don' care! I jus' don' wan' things t' be **weird** anymore! Jus' … tell 'im you're sorry or somethin'!"

Sanzo rose from Jeep, a streak of red spreading across his face and fan raised threateningly. "_Bakazaru, _you have **no** idea what you're getting into…"

At that moment, Hakkai and Gojyo emerged from the bushes, taking in the sight of Goku standing his ground before an extremely angry priest. "What's going on here?" Hakkai asked, glancing back and forth between the two of them.

Goku crossed his arms, looking off into the forest away from Sanzo. "I **tried**."

Gojyo raised an eyebrow. "Tried? The hell?"

Now the boy looked back, focusing on Gojyo. "You guys **gotta** make up!"

"Says who? You?" Gojyo asked, taking a few steps closer in case a pummeling was going to be required.

"Yeah!" Goku insisted. "I don' wanna go all the way West in silence 'cuz you two are bein' stupid! I wan' us all t' be friends an' then you guys can go back t' bein' boyfriends—!"

Hakkai hadn't realized just how loud the crickets in the forest were, but they overpowered the group at that moment. Sanzo looked ready to kill and Gojyo looked stunned.

"Boy…" Sanzo began.

"…Friends?" Gojyo finished.

"LIKE HELL!" They shouted in unison, which Hakkai found impressive considering they still weren't speaking to one another.

Hakkai decided to step in this time, for Goku's sake. "Anou…" he started to say, but was cut off by Sanzo withdrawing his gun.

"Goku…" Gojyo warned.

Sanzo finished it this time. "You have a three-second head start."

After a few more minutes, Hakkai was able to get everyone calmed down, Sanzo and Gojyo in their spots in Jeep smoking and still ignoring each other, and had convinced Goku to climb down from the tree he'd perched in.

The stop hadn't done anything, except for the added hostility of Sanzo and Gojyo being angry with Goku as well as with each other.

-+-

Hakkai accelerated now that they were out of the little patch of forest and back onto solid terrain. They hadn't been traveling long when an ominous force appeared just out of view. He began to slow instinctively. 'Youki_. I definitely sense it._' (1)

"Oi, Hakkai," Gojyo started from the back. " Izzat what I think it is?"

"I believe we have a situation ahead of us," Hakkai chose to respond, while the rest of the Ikkou could now clearly see a massive line of youkai stretched across their path; many were dressed in armor, some wielded weapons, and some were on horseback.

It was an army.

Hakkai applied the brakes and they stopped about a hundred meters away. Everyone stepped out of Jeep, who turned back into his normal form. The healer took his dragon in his arms and whispered instructions to go off and hide. Hakuryu kyuu-ed in understanding and took off into the air, circling about.

"Right, then," Gojyo said, extending his right arm out in front of him. There was a glow of light while he focused his energy and then it extended and solidified into the Shakujou. He turned it vertical and rested it against his shoulder, crescent blade side pointing to the sky. "What's our plan of attack?"

"Looks like a couple thousan'," Goku offered, focusing his energy to the palm of his hand as well and summoning the Nyoi-bo. "Most of 'em are just claws, but I can see some swords, too."

Hakkai flexed his hands, feeling his chi flowing through his body. He tried to keep his emotions neutral, to save up energy. "So if we estimate around 2,000 or so, that should be enough for an aerobic workout."

Sanzo was placing extra ammunition rounds into his robes. He also clicked open the gun a few times to make sure it was completely loaded. "They're going to try and overpower us with sheer numbers; don't go off on your own if you can help it." He put his arm down, making it and the gun disappear into his sleeve. "Goku, make sure you don't get in Hakkai's way. Got it?"

"Yup!" Goku gave a thumbs-up.

"Hakkai, try to conserve your energy."

"Understood." Hakkai nodded.

Gojyo shifted his weight to his right, waiting.

Sanzo's eyes flickered over to him, but quickly went back to the horde awaiting them. "Let's go."

The priest began walking straight for the army amassed ahead, wind tossing his hair and robes as he strode off. Goku eagerly bounded after him, but not without a concerned glance shot in Gojyo's direction first.

Hakkai tried to catch the redhead's eye, but Gojyo was busy lighting up. "We should talk more later."

Gojyo gave a soft 'tch.' "Whatever."

On the other side, the youkai leaders saw the four approaching figures and steadied their men. "On my mark!" The officer nearest Seiran instructed, making a shiver of adrenaline course through the spy's body.

He hated to admit it, but he'd never experienced combat on such a large scale before. Despite his prowess in duels, he was unsure of himself. Due to all the months he'd spent trailing the Sanzo-Ikkou, he had to admit that he was impressed with the manner in which they faced battles.

"CHARGE!" The rallying cry echoed through the ranks and Seiran was moving whether he liked it or not; to stand still would have been to be crushed under the sheer mass of people surrounding him.

All four Ikkou members took their usual stances, feeling the ground under their feet rumble from the rushing forces. Gojyo stood furthest to the left, with Hakkai next to him on the right. Goku stood to Hakkai's right and Sanzo was on Goku's other side.

Once the initial forces came within a few meters, Hakkai extended his hands, grunting as he summoned the well of chi inside him. The white-green energy burst from his hands, arching outwards in the form of a wave of blasts towards the front lines. He pushed forward a little, following it up with a few shorter blasts. Some of the more foolish youkai attempted to face the shots head-on and were vaporized.

Sanzo found a few oncoming attackers in his crosshairs. Without a word, he fired off a round and five youkai dropped instantly.

A deafening roar cut through the crowd as various groups split off to face the individual members. Seiran's feet were barely moving; he was being shoved along almost too fast to think. He at least had enough sense remaining to try and force himself in one direction – his far right. He focused on the bright red ahead of him, waving in the breeze like a target. '_A little closer and you're mine, beast_,' he thought.

Goku jumped straight into the fray once they hit, taking down several at a time with direct hits from the Nyoi-bo. The gold and red of the staff blurred as he brought it down quickly on top of anyone who approached him. The boy soon found himself surrounded by youkai, but he could only grin at the new challenge that had appeared. "Hope you guys're ready, 'cuz I'm gonna have fun!" With that proclamation, he set out to take down a few more.

Hakkai stood a little ways behind Goku, surveying the situation as several youkai drew closer to him, forming a semi-circle. He noticed the youkai right in front of him was tossing a fireball back and forth between his palms. "You're not the only one who knows such tricks," Hakkai murmured, shooting out a few chi balls in quick succession. Those few in the way disintegrated before they realized what was going on.

Most of the youkai, however, were building up around the human priest just off to Goku's right. Sanzo emptied another round into the crowd, cursing as he reloaded, the unconscious action still not feeling fast enough. His only consolation was that most were hanging back and not engaging all at once. Feeling a presence, he turned around in a flurry of white and put a bullet right in the nearest youkai's brain. The feel of another drawing near, claws outstretched, sent a rush through him; he immediately blew the youkai's hand off. His opponent howled in pain and rage until Sanzo shot him in the chest. '_Faster, hurry_,' were the thoughts circling his mind, a part of which was trying to get him to look over to see if… **someone** was all right. '_No_,' he decided before finishing another round.

Far away from the priest, the crescent blade swung out, cutting through the torsos of three youkai before returning to Gojyo. The redhead was watching the line that was coming straight for him, noticing that most of his opponents were normal fighter. '_Claws, swords, piece a' cake,'_ he told himself, eyes narrowed. He took out a few more that approached with the flat end of his blade, his actions a little more forceful than normal. "You guys picked the wrong lifetime," he snarled, stepping forward and catching a few more in his chains, pulling it tight enough that none of them could breathe. "I don't have time for you today!"

As Gojyo continued venting his frustrations on the attacking youkai, Seiran had finally made it to the kappa. He withdrew a dagger from his cloak and readied it. '_Are you ready?'_ He waited until Gojyo was occupied with a larger youkai – he recognized that lanky green one from before – and darted around behind him.

A presence speeding towards him from the back made Gojyo take notice. He thrust the blade through the current youkai he was fighting and then turned to face the newest challenger. A guy in a cloak was holding a knife and was attempting to rush him on his left.

The kappa swore he dodged, but the youkai's range extended a little further than he'd anticipated and the dagger sunk into his abdomen, just under the left side of his ribcage. Gojyo let out a harsh gasp as pain exploded through his middle. "Shit," he choked out, raising the Shakujou over his head and belatedly realizing the chain required a longer range and the blade was at an awkward position. He improvised and gripped it on either end, pulling it around the back of the youkai's neck. His opponent was trapped, forced to hold still as Gojyo brought his knee up and nailed him right in the stomach, making the youkai fall to the ground with a stifled cry.

Looking down, he saw bright red soaking through his white tank top. He tenderly pressed his left hand over it, but the wound didn't seem particularly deep. '_Hope Hakkai can fix this._'

Seiran lay there on the ground, neck and stomach protesting the harsh treatment, but the youkai consoled himself with the fact that things were still technically going according to plan. He laid there, eyes closed, stilling his breathing to a point where it looked like he had, in fact, died. Seiran listened for heavy footsteps around him and once they slowed down, he knew that fewer and fewer youkai were going after the half-breed.

What the redhead didn't know was that before going out, Seiran had gone to the chambers of his master's female apothecary and snuck out a poison – not a particularly strong one, but enough to make the victim pass out once it circulated through their system. It was a clear liquid, perfect to coat the daggers in. All he had to do now was wait.

Gojyo looked up to see what had happened to the others. He'd ended up distancing himself despite the priest's warning; there was a small slope to the terrain and he was lower down than anyone else in the Ikkou that he could see.

The fight was almost over, only a few more stragglers remaining; the youkai officers were retreating. His eyes zoomed up and over to one last swarm of them, where he could make out brilliant blond hair. Gunshots rang out, along with cries from Goku and Hakkai, so Gojyo knew the other two had rushed to Sanzo's aid.

'_Good… You stay alive; I'm not done being mad at you yet_.' He smirked to himself and took a few steps forward to them. It wasn't long before he noticed something deeply wrong.

The crowd of youkai blurred before him and Gojyo felt his legs wobble. '_What the_ –' His hand instinctively went to his wound and his stomach lurched. He tried to focus on something – anything that wasn't moving, but a wave of nausea passed through him and he dropped to his knees.

Fighting the urge to vomit, Gojyo took a few deep breaths. '_What … did they __**do**__ to me?_' His vision kept warping, so he was left with no other choice than to close his eyes.

Seiran swayed as he pulled himself to his feet. He hadn't been expecting Gojyo to get in such a good hit. _'It's easy to underestimate the power of brute force in such primitive creatures,_' he thought, wiping a trail of blood away as it dripped down from his lips. '_If that bastard made me rupture something, I'll make sure to pay him back triple._'

Gojyo felt the presence behind him, but even thinking of spinning around to face it made him feel sicker. His head began to pound as he looked up to see another youkai with a cape. "You guys just… won't die, will ya'?" he forced out, trying and failing to get back on his feet.

"Don't bother struggling, _hanyou,_" Seiran sneered, glancing down disdainfully at his target. "It's over."

"Huh?" Gojyo barely had time to register that statement before Seiran raised his hand, the pommel of his dagger coming down on the left side of Gojyo's head. The redhead crumpled to the ground, feeling his head spin and the pain around his stab wound throb more.

Seiran smirked and moved closer his fallen opponent, still a little shaky on his own feet. "That's for earlier."

Gojyo tried to stand but only managed to prop himself up on his palms. In his confusion, he wondered what had happened to the others. There still looked to be a huge mess of youkai surrounding them and, from the faint green he could see, Hakkai was probably protecting them while Sanzo and Goku took a breather.

'_Maybe Sanzo's chantin'… Hope so…_' Gojyo glared at the youkai. "You're only making your own death… worse…" '_Shit…_'

Pain shot through his scalp as Seiran's claws wound themselves tightly in the deep red hair, forcing his head up. "The sooner you give up, the sooner the pain ends," the youkai said haughtily. He then pushed Gojyo back to the ground, but his grip was such that it was more of a punch.

Things were moving too fast. Gojyo tried to react, but all he could focus on was the ground under his body and a great amount of blood was pooled next to him. His surroundings blurred for the last time and then all went black.

Seiran grabbed the unconscious _hanyou_ by his ankles, fighting off his revulsion at having to touch him. '_Now we wait and see how Genjyo Sanzo reacts_.'

He quickly made his way towards the cluster of trees where he'd hidden his dragon, dragging his enemy and feeling a bit of satisfaction as he heard the _hanyou's_ head bump on several rocks. He strapped the kappa to the animal and took off. He'd already selected a place nearby to hold him, so it was time to implement the second phase.

Perched up in the trees, a pair of beady red eyes watched intently. Hakuryu issued a nervous low cheep.

-+-

"MAKAI… TENJYO!" With a flurry of green and white, all the surrounding youkai shrieked and were torn apart by purifying light. Goku and Hakkai stuck close to the priest, lest they be caught up by the flying scriptures and injured as well.

The dust finally settled and Sanzo allowed the sutra to retract back to his shoulders. He hadn't wanted to resort to using the sutra, but he'd had no other choice. There had simply been too many opponents. His eyelids felt heavy and he knew that he was drained of all his spiritual energy for the time being. Behind him, Hakkai was panting heavily from the extensive amount of shielding he'd been doing and Goku leaned on the Nyoi-bo, a little winded and relieved for a break.

Hakkai finally caught his breath, recalling that it'd been a while since he'd defeated all of his own enemies and rushed over to aid a swamped Sanzo and Goku. He noticed that Gojyo hadn't come over to join them. _'He probably saw it as a variation of helping out Sanzo… Honestly, those two…_' He trailed off in his own thoughts as he scanned the battlefield for his friend.

"Naa," Goku piped up. "Where'd Gojyo go?"

Sanzo shrugged, reaching into his sleeves for a cigarette. "Hell if I know."

"Wait a moment," Hakkai started in a low voice, "I don't see him anywhere." The brunet felt his chest clench, worried when several more scans yielded no results. "Do you think he's been hurt?"

Goku immediately sprinted off into the middle of the battlefield. "Stupid kappa, if he got himself…" The boy's pace slowed until he stopped, right in the center. "Oh no…"

"What is it?" Hakkai was now following him to the same spot. Goku was looking around in a couple directions, eyes narrowing and a frown settling on his face.

"I can't smell 'im."

"Are you sure?"

"Kyuu!" Hakuryu fluttered overhead, circling a few times and landing on Hakkai's shoulder.

He stroked the dragon's neck absently. "You didn't see Gojyo, did you, little one?"

"Kyuu!" Hakuryu recognized the name and stretched his long white neck back to the cluster of trees. '_There, there_!' He seemed to be saying, but looking over, Hakkai saw nothing resembling Gojyo.

"You're wasting time asking an animal, Hakkai," Sanzo called, taking a few leisurely paces towards the other two. The cigarette dangling from his mouth bobbed as he talked, while the nicotine was serving to keep him calm. It also helped to push away worry and images of Gojyo being injured, or worse. '_Not that I care_.'

"Wait!" Goku exclaimed, suddenly looking off to his left and darting towards something. "Over here!" Hakkai took off after him and Sanzo continued his slow pace behind them.

Goku stopped at a particular patch of grass and scanned all of the dead youkai lying there. There were gash marks on most of them and several had limbs cut off. "Gojyo definitely killed these guys," he remarked, turning around when he heard Hakkai come up behind him. "He was here. The smell picked up a little an'…"

At the boy's sudden silence, Hakkai felt the worry gnaw at him a little more. "And?"

Sanzo arrived at the group just in time to see Goku bite his lip in frustration.

"I smell 'is blood. A **lot** of it." Goku crouched down, glancing at the ground until he spotted a large dark stain on the grass. "There. That's Gojyo's blood."

Sanzo's eyes narrowed as he too focused on it. '_That __**idiot**__… Don't tell me…_'

'_Don't tell you that he was distracted because of you and got hurt?_' A voice inside his head questioned.

The priest cursed under his breath. '_It's not my fault._' Somehow, he knew the voice didn't believe him.

"There's no body." Hakkai tried to state it matter-of-factly, but he couldn't disguise how his voice wavered uncertainly. The mere thought of something happening to his best friend and there being nothing he could do about it continued to eat away at him. "That being the case, he can't possibly be dead."

Goku spied something lying off a little farther in the grass. "Izzat…?" He rushed over and soon held up the long crescent-blade staff. "How did he leave his weapon?"

"I'm **sure** it would have disappeared if Gojyo had died," Hakkai said. "He hasn't released control of it, so he probably stills has a mental hold on its existence."

"So… he's still alive!" Goku proclaimed, feeling a little better.

"Yes, but now the most likely option is that he's been captured." Hakkai turned to the leader of the Ikkou. "Sanzo, what should we do?"

Sanzo sighed, dropping the cigarette and crushing it under his boots. "No fucking clue."

-To Be Continued-

Notes:

(1) Youki – Youkai (demons) + ki (energy) … "Demon energy" or "youkai no ki."


	4. Three: Associate

A/N: So, this was a much longer wait for this chapter than I'd hoped; I apologize. Between school ending and medical issues, there was a lot preventing me from getting this out in a timely manner. Hopefully, the next one won't take so long. I also went way over my allotted word count, but there just wasn't anything I could remove without hurting the flow of the story.

A/N2: Late fix for a plot point that slipped past me.

Chapter 3: Associate

With a click of her high heels down the hallway, Hwang rounded the corner and made her way to the laboratory. She'd just come from a meeting with Gyokumen Koushu and the woman had made it clear to Hwang that she was not happy.

'_And if Gyokumen Koushu isn't happy, no one's happy,'_ Hwang thought bleakly.

Another source of Hwang's misery was sitting at his own computer, smoking and staring at a map on his monitor. He closed the window as she strode closer, swiveling around in his chair. She couldn't see his eyes due to the glare from his glasses and his neutral expression gave away no hints as to what he was thinking.

"You're upset, Hwang-chan," he teased, raising a mug of coffee up to his mouth and slurping at it. As he set it down, large drops of the liquid sloshed onto two fresh printouts, on which she could see writing that looked similar to that of the sutras they'd already recovered.

She had studied the patterns on the Seiten long enough to know that this was different than any of the others she'd seen so far. She tried to peer closer, but Ni's arm conveniently blocked her view.

Trying to get her mind back on track, Hwang couldn't help being disgusted, both at his actions and his over-familiarity with her. "Gyokumen Koushu-sama has discovered that the Prince and his friends have run off without her permission again. She's also received the latest news from the army on top of us having no new research to present on the revival project. Part of that last one is as much your problem as it is mine."

"What makes you think I'm not working?" he asked, glib smile plastered on his face as always. "It's not as if the only options for success are the most obvious ones."

Hwang didn't even pretend to understand what that meant. "At any rate, she told me…" She trailed off, swallowing her rage at the other piece of information she was to present. "That your presence is required in her chambers." A streak of pink spread across her face.

Ni stood up, stretching and rotating his head until he heard his neck crack in a satisfying manner. He shuffled past her and his compliance further infuriated the female scientist.

"All these distractions when I'm trying to do my job," he commented lightly, taking another sip from the mug as he stepped into the hallway. "Just when I was getting to the good part, too."

Hwang automatically glanced over at the computer screen, but a screensaver of rabbits was already hopping its way across the monitor. When she looked back to the doorway, Ni was gone.

She looked over to see what he'd been working on, but the computer was automatically password-locked. Whatever the printouts had been, they had now smeared from the coffee. One of the only words that stood out to her was "Sanzo."

-+-

_Gojyo didn't know how long he'd been following the priest and his pet monkey up that hill, but he'd never felt this disconnected in his life. Here he was, tagging along with someone yet again, because a part of him couldn't stand to see Green Eyes – or rather, Cho Gonou, as the priest called him – do anything stupid. Not after he'd finally found someone who understood him._

_Yet it was this strange monk who'd seen what Gojyo was unable to: that there was no use in feeling sorry for himself, that there was something else besides blood in those damned features. His heart had skipped a beat back there, when 'Sanzo,' this worldly priest who only moments earlier was pointing a gun to Gojyo's head, had stared him down with those brilliant violet eyes._

"_The ones with the strongest will to live are the ones who survive."_

_It was a silent command, not just to live, but to want the life he'd been given. It was a command Gojyo had been following for years now, to stand for something, to live for __**anything.**_

_It wasn't until a recently that Gojyo wanted to live for __**someone.**_

_Gojyo was jerked out of his memory by what looked to be the priest yelling. Sanzo was calling him stupid and useless and a __**half-breed**__… words he'd sworn he would never use. Behind Sanzo, a youkai smirked and passed a dagger back and forth between his hands._

_Gojyo's eyes narrowed. '_Wait, didn't I get hit?_' He looked down to his torso, where a wound should have been._

Gojyo was forced to close his eyes as a wave of pain radiated out from his abdomen. When he opened his eyes again, his dream was gone. He was sitting in a stonewalled room with only a tiny, vertical slit carved in the wall for a window. A heavy wooden door stood directly in his line of vision and he realized he'd been chained to the other wall, both of his hands in shackles mounted above him. His arms were stretched over his head and looking down, he saw his shirt and jacket were gone. His legs were also bound together with a ball and chain connected to it, keeping him down. There was a crude bandage covering the stab wound.

'_At least the guy had the decency to wrap me up_,' he thought rather cynically, attempting to pull his arms down, only to feel the metal bite into his wrists. He then tried drawing his legs closer to push himself up and held back a groan as the motion aggravated his wound. Gojyo was forced to give that up when he realized that the shackles wouldn't allow him to stand up anyway.

Abandoning that idea, Gojyo decided to take in a bit more of his surroundings. A look towards the window told him nothing; from his angle, all he could see was the darkening sky outside. He knew it had been early afternoon when they'd fought that youkai army, so he assumed that he'd been out for at least a couple of hours. However, with the way his head was pounding, days could have gone by and he'd never know.

'_Sanzo…_' Gojyo grimaced, trying to force the thought away. He didn't need to think about the priest right now, not after the hateful things the blond had told him. A growl escaped him anyway as he recalled the overwhelming insecurity and jealousy his lover had displayed during that argument. '_Why is it never enough to tell him that I love him? He __**always**__ has to question me. And those things he said about…'_

Gojyo drifted away from that thought as he picked up the sound of footsteps getting closer. The redhead figured it was his captor, coming to check up on him. '_But if it's a youkai_, _why didn't the guy just kill me? I'm no good to him alive_.'

Finally, the footsteps paused right outside the door and Gojyo heard the jingling of keys before one slid into the lock and there was a click. The kappa had tensed involuntarily, suddenly hyperaware of his vulnerable position. He closed his eyes, briefly wondering if he should conjure up his weapon, but it wouldn't do much good with his hands tied up that way.

The door finally swung open after what seemed like an eternity and Gojyo drew in a sharp breath, recognizing the youkai from earlier as the one who had stabbed him. The guy had finally taken off his cape, letting Gojyo see his tanned skin and short brown hair. The youkai was wearing a dark-green, long-sleeved shirt with a brown leather vest overtop of it, as well as matching gloves, bracers, and boots. The shirt came down almost to his mid-thigh, which covered up some of the skin-tight pants he had on. Seiran stopped and examined the prisoner before him.

"Remarkably well-behaved," he murmured to himself.

The kappa snorted. "Could say the same for you. Not much of a bad guy if this is the worst you can do. Or are you supposed to horrify me into submission with your little Nature Boy getup?" He could at least be amused by the youkai's fashion sense. It wasn't the most ridiculous thing he'd ever seen, but the camouflage idea was a bit played out in this day and age. Despite the fact that he was attempting one-liners, Gojyo still couldn't completely suppress the worry that had started to creep up in his mind.

There was a tense silence in between the two as Gojyo waited for the youkai to speak. He hadn't really given it much thought until now, but the odds were good that this person was holding him for a purpose. '_Maybe this guy wants somethin' from me.'_

Seiran finally addressed Gojyo after a few more agonizing seconds of silence. "Alright, I'm going to be upfront with you: this can be painless for both of us—"

"Says the guy who stabbed me," Gojyo retorted bitterly, but Seiran continued.

"—If we just get down to business—"

"What the hell kinda **business** do you have with me anyway?"

"Last I checked, you aren't in the best position to be asking questions," Seiran insisted, abandoning the formalities. He stepped closer, so that Gojyo was forced to look up to see him. "However, I **am**. First of all, and most importantly, since I've taken you here, how long do you think your friends are going to take to come by and collect you?"

Gojyo raised an eyebrow, trying for overall indifference. He was a professional gambler, after all; he'd especially perfected his poker face over the years. "Hell if I know. What makes you so sure they'd come for me anyway?"

Seiran was also deep in thought. _'I can't give out all the information I have on him just yet… I'll let him sweat it out a bit.'_ He suddenly adopted a lighter tone. "Just wondering what they typically do in situations where a teammate goes missing. Although, who knows, perhaps they're already looking for a replacement for you."

Gojyo gave a short laugh. "Unfortunately for them, I kinda hafta be there." As he flashed a smirk at Seiran, he hoped it was covering up how nervous he'd begun to feel.

'_Good,'_ Seiran thought, unaware of Gojyo's history with betting. _'He's as talkative as I had him pegged for. Let's just hope he knows how to talk about the right things.' _"So, they'll probably come after you," the youkai decided, pacing a bit. "How long do you think that'll take?"

Gojyo shrugged. "Like I said, I don't know. They prob'ly think I can take care of myself."

"But they'll still come, eventually. Do you suppose they'll wait and prepare some tactics? Attempt to lay siege to this place?"

'_Damn, he's persistent.'_ Gojyo tried to keep acting disaffected. "Why d'you care? And I'm not a strategist; I wouldn't know what they're planning."

Seiran had now moved to the wall that Gojyo was bound to, pulling the cell keys from his pocket delicately. Seiran slowly twirled the key ring on his right index finger. "It really doesn't matter to me what your capabilities are… it's what **they** can do. It would just be the three of them, right? Or would there be someone else who could assist them?"

Gojyo didn't respond right away. He kept looking back to the keys, which glimmered in the darkness of the cell. "Sorry, am I boring you or something?"

Seiran smiled. "Hmm?" He momentarily caught the keys in his palm, clenching his fist around them. "Oh, these." He started spinning them around again. "Don't worry about it; it's not that hard to multitask."

The tanned youkai was reveling in the fact that the _hanyou's_ eyes were locked on to the twirling keys; the motion evidently distracted him. "It's just something to keep my hands occupied while we chat, you know. Now, what was I saying? Oh yes… It would just be those three?"

The redhead swallowed, still watching the keys. Seiran could tell that Gojyo was assessing whether or not it was possible, despite having his hands bound, for him to get them from the youkai. "Don't know. I guess."

"Would they just burst in here, weapons at the ready? Sneaking in doesn't seem to be your usual method."

Gojyo shrugged. "What's it matter? Not like I'd tell you even if I **did** know."

That was the last thing Gojyo managed to get out before his abdomen once again shot through with pain, his vision bursting with stars. "Wha—what—" he attempted, but he could taste blood in his mouth and he felt sick; Seiran had jabbed his left claws directly into his wound, causing the redhead to jerk against his bonds.

Looking up, crimson met dark brown. "It seemed like you weren't taking me seriously enough, **half-breed.** This is what happens when you don't tell me what I want to know. It's a very avoidable thing, after all." He sneered, twisting the claws a little bit. "Pity that wound hasn't healed up yet… It would be mostly fixed if you were a **full** youkai."

Gojyo coughed weakly. "My bad."

"Let's try again, shall we?" Seiran leaned forward and kept his claws in the wound, peering down at his captive. "What do you think the rest of your group would plan if they had to go and rescue someone? Would they automatically resort to fighting? Or would they be open to bargaining?"

'_Bargaining?' _Suddenly, it clicked in Gojyo's mind. "You don't want me for info, do you? I'm a hostage…"

"Wow, did you come up with that **all** on your **own**?" Seiran moved a little closer, noting how Gojyo inched back against the wall. "But what would I want in exchange for **you**?"

Gojyo's eyes widened. _'A trade…'_ "The sutra," he concluded grimly, looking up to see Seiran's gloating face.

"Very well done. Genjyo Sanzo hands over the sutra and you all get to continue on your merry way… all **four** of you."

Gojyo couldn't help it. He started laughing, startling Seiran. The redhead paused to get himself together. "You're so stupid. First you think they'd actually come and get me, then you think **Sanzo'd** give up the **sutra**? That guy'd go to India all by himself before he'd give **that** thing up!"

Another jolt of pain shot through him and this time, Gojyo felt Seiran pushing him back against the wall, claws going deeper. "You may think I don't know what I'm talking about, but **I** think you're lying… After all, you two have become pretty **close** lately."

How this youkai could still manage to surprise him even through the pain, Gojyo didn't know. His heart was racing now, from a new spike of fear just thinking about any harm coming to Sanzo. "W-what do—"

The claws twisted further underneath the redhead's ribcage. Gojyo started worrying that Seiran would rip through an organ.

"What do you **think** I mean? It's pretty obvious how you feel towards him. Though I admit I've wondered if it's **mutual**…" Seiran drew his head back a little from Gojyo's face, but kept his claws where they were. "Considering how he treats you like shit. It's pathetic; you cling to any warm body, despite how they feel about you."

The kappa could barely focus; his vision blurred as he forced his eyes up to Seiran. "You… don't know anything."

"On the contrary," Seiran corrected, "I know a lot more about you than you think." Without warning, he twisted his hand yet again. A trickle of blood started to drip down Gojyo's torso. "How long before they come?"

Gojyo choked back a cry that desperately wanted to escape. "A… few days," he gasped. "A-about a week, maybe."

For once, there was no follow-up attack. Gojyo's eyes still stung as Seiran's voice quietly continued. "What will they do?"

"I don't know! Just barge in, kill you, get me, and **leave**!" Gojyo's voice came out louder than he'd wanted, knowing he sounded pleading.

Finally, Seiran pulled his claws out, but the redhead continued to pant. The wound had reopened and was steadily bleeding through the bandage.

Seiran moved to the door. "See, now was that so hard? If you keep being cooperative like that, we won't have to worry about you no longer being useful to me. You can get back with your priest, no problem."

Right as Seiran opened the door to leave, Gojyo lifted his head back up, glaring. "Wait… tell me… Why me, outta all of us?"

Seiran smirked once more. "I selected you because I knew you'd be the easiest to manipulate. You're weak and I knew you would talk… when properly motivated." Then he slammed the door and Gojyo heard the clicking of the lock. "I guess I'll send someone to wrap that up," Seiran offered from the other side, almost as an afterthought.

"S-so **nice** of you!" Gojyo managed to call back sarcastically.

He waited until the footsteps receded before slumping over. '_Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Can't even bluff anymore. Maybe… Sanzo was right about me being 'useless.''_ The word sounded dirty, even when he thought it, but he could only sink down deeper into the hopelessness he felt.

He moaned out loud after a minute. "Dammit, I can't even reach my smokes…"

-+-

The remaining Ikkou members continued to comb the battlefield for any sign of their missing companion, or for any survivors who might know his whereabouts. They had no such luck; every last youkai had either died or escaped and Gojyo was nowhere to be found.

Despite clinging to the hope that the redhead was alive and well, Hakkai now felt that he was becoming slightly obsessive in his searching. '_What possible reason could any of our enemies have for capturing one of us instead of just outright killing us?_' he wondered for what felt like the millionth time. His mind had already wandered to other scenarios, but just thinking of his best friend being mortally injured was making him feel ill.

He stopped walking for a moment, standing in the middle of the battlefield for yet another scan. Hakuryu had been circling overhead again, cheeping, but landed back on Hakkai's shoulder, nuzzling his neck.

Further off towards the eastern side of the battlefield, Goku had crouched down, eyes cast on the ground. The smell hadn't picked up anywhere and a few hours had gone by already. Whoever had grabbed Gojyo had to be long gone by this time. The boy looked up and over to where Hakkai was staring off into the distance and felt a pang of hurt for his friend. He knew that Hakkai had been trying hard to get Gojyo and Sanzo to make up and they still hated each other even now that Gojyo was…

Goku immediately dropped that thought as he looked around for the priest. Sanzo was partway between Goku and Hakkai, still smoking and cursing under his breath and trying to look disaffected. Goku almost felt worse for Sanzo in this situation. He and Gojyo hadn't had the chance to make up for their horrible fight that morning and now it looked like they still might not get the chance.

The shorter brunet hopped up, starting to head over to the priest. Hakkai was still lost in his own thoughts by the time that Goku reached Sanzo.

"Naa…" he began.

Sanzo looked away. "What the hell do you want, monkey?" The question was asked rather half-heartedly. He crushed out his cigarette and reached into the pack for another one, only to find it empty. He'd been chain-smoking almost non-stop for the past couple of hours, so it wasn't surprising. He grumbled as he tossed the empty pack to the ground.

"I was gonna say," Goku attempted again, looking over and noticing Hakkai slowly making his way towards them. "I don' think we're gonna find him this way. He's obviously not here. It's already gettin' dark, too."

"Then what do you suggest we do, genius?" Sanzo snorted, still unable to look Goku in the eyes.

Hakkai had now joined up with the other two. "Goku's right, as much as I hate to give up like this. We haven't had any luck finding Gojyo, which means whoever has him is keeping him somewhere else. I think we have to regroup and decide what course of action to take."

"What course is there? He's fucking **gone**, Hakkai!" Sanzo didn't realize how loud he'd gotten until he noticed the shocked looks on the faces of the other two. He coughed, aware that he was blushing slightly, and tried to get a grip on himself. "It's not like whoever took him left any indication of where they went. We have no way of knowing what happened or planning for **anything**." He started to reach for another cigarette, cursing yet again when he remembered that he was out.

"Getting irritable isn't going to solve anything," Hakkai attempted gently, but the blond suddenly whirled on him.

"Well, of **course** it isn't," Sanzo snarled, looking at the healer mockingly. "I should just start acting like **you**. **Always** acting calm about **every** little thing when you're **really** just dying to **rip** something apart. I guess I should just play the **martyr** like you **always** do and sit here and **pine** for that **stupid** kap—"

"Stop!"

Even Goku froze at the sharpness in Hakkai's tone. Sanzo was almost shaking with pent-up rage and Hakkai's emerald eyes actually held fire in them. The two men were staring each other down, daring the other to make the first move. Goku had only felt a tension like this once before – the last time Gojyo had disappeared on them.

"You think that **just** because you decide to drop the grin every once in a while that I have to **snap** to your every **command**?" Sanzo wouldn't stop; his voice continued to get louder and Goku could see the priest digging his nails into his palms. "You're no **better** than the kappa then… **Always** trying to tell me how to—"

"Seriously, stop!" Goku cut in, stepping in between the other two and extending his hands. The teen's head was starting to hurt again, meaning that Sanzo was still in pain. This time, Goku was determined to stop the conflict before it started. "We shouldn't be gettin' all angry like this. I really hate it when you guys fight… makes it smell all weird." _'Like with Kami-sama,'_ he wanted to add.

"We gotta stay calm and not get pissed with each other. We're not s'posed t' be fightin', y'know?" Goku pulled back after a second, eyes cast downward. "Sorry, I know you guys're prob'ly gonna get mad at me, too."

"No, Goku, you're right," Hakkai said. "We're all very concerned for Gojyo and we're letting it control our emotions. Our enemies probably wanted this very thing to happen all along."

Sanzo was also looking at the ground. "Ch." When he looked back up, he quickly turned away from the other two and focused off into the distance. "It's all the _erogappa's_ fault."

Goku grinned. "Yeah, it's gotta be."

Hakkai carefully lifted Hakuryu from his shoulders and set him down on the ground. With a soft "kyuu," the dragon quickly transformed into Jeep. "If nothing else, I think our best bet is to head back to Yi San and regroup. It might be almost two hours backwards, but that's better than going on for eight more hours to the next town. We could also get some more camping supplies and come back out this way in the morning."

"If Gojyo kicks it b'fore then, I'll beat his ass," Goku decided, hopping into the back of Jeep.

Hakkai strapped himself into the driver's seat. "Hopefully, Gojyo can hold out until then." He paused. "Rather... I **know** Gojyo will be fine. I can't help but think that whoever took him wanted him for a reason. Once he or she reveals that reason, we'll be able to plan from there." He glanced up to see Sanzo still staring off into the West. "Are you getting in, Sanzo?"

The priest looked as though he'd been jolted from his thoughts. "Yeah," he replied faintly, getting in and desperately wishing for a cigarette.

The drive back to Yi San was made in complete silence. Goku knew that it was vastly different from the silence on the way out and that there was a different kind of tension in the air. His headache had dulled, but he still knew that Sanzo was consumed by his thoughts and probably too busy to be outright angry with everyone and everything.

The priest's first order of business upon returning to the town had been to buy a few packs of Marlboro, just to be on the safe side. He'd been going through them way too fast for his own good, so while Hakkai returned to the inn to get a room, he'd picked up more than usual. He'd had to forcibly avert his eyes when he saw all of the other brands; the bright orange packages of Hi-Lites in particular had seemed to stick out to him.

By the time he'd finished, they already had a room – only one, as Hakkai suggested it was for group safety – and could plan for their next move. The healer had surmised that whoever had taken the redhead couldn't have gone far.

"Keeping Gojyo alive," Hakkai said, "is part of their plan. We have to do all we can to save him without playing into a trap of any kind."

"You keep sayin' plan, but what kinda plan you talkin' about?" Goku asked, leaning on the back of a chair that he had straddled. He folded his arms and rested his chin on top of them. "What do they want?"

"Same thing they always want," Sanzo answered gruffly from the window, where he'd been standing and smoking. "The sutra."

Ever since he'd gotten back to the inn, he'd been trying to avoid feeling as guilty as he had been. The voice inside was back, questioning him, doubting him, accusing him of a variety of crimes. Sanzo was getting tired of it as it only made him smoke more.

Hakkai nodded. "I was afraid all along that was the case. We certainly can't give up the sutra, so what do you propose we do instead, Sanzo?" The healer figured that he could defer to their leader now that the priest wasn't outright accusing him of anything. '_Though I'd still like to know what he meant by that outburst from earlier. I don't think I've done anything to upset him lately and yet he was acting like part of it was my fault…_'

"Why ask me?" Sanzo lit up once again, making both of the brunets glad that the window was open.

"I'm asking because, first of all, the sutra belongs to you and you ultimately decide what's to be done with it. Secondly, I find that discussion is a much better alternative than glaring out the window and further blackening one's lungs."

Goku shivered. The feeling from before **still** hadn't gone away. Although Hakkai's language was calm, his tone was anything but; the healer wasn't quite yet over Sanzo's earlier outburst. "Well, anyway, if we gotta plan, then we should **all** think up ideas, right Sanzo?" Goku asked.

The priest kept the cigarette between his fingers and let it dangle as he thought. "I just don't see what good it'll do."

"Here's an idea," Hakkai began again. "Perhaps while we wait, we can talk about this morning."

Violet eyes regarded him cautiously. "What about this morning?"

"Nothing!" Goku jumped in, waving his hands. "It wasn't important, was it, Hakkai?"

"I'm not talking to you, monkey," Sanzo snapped, refocusing on the driver. "What do you care about this morning?"

Hakkai's tone was very rigid, as though it was taking a lot of control on his part to remain calm. "I was just curious as to the reasoning behind the argument you had with Gojyo. Surely, nothing he said or did warranted the reaction we heard."

Goku could see the walls going up around Sanzo with each word that Hakkai spoke. The boy was used to it from all the years he'd lived with the priest at Keiun Temple. Whenever another monk, or Goku himself, hit a sore spot, Sanzo blocked them out, whether it involved screaming or hitting or just going silent. It looked to him like Sanzo was choosing the last option.

Hakkai wasn't about to let it go that easily. "What did Gojyo say to make you call him a _**half-breed**_?"

Goku squeezed his eyes shut as a burst of pain erupted around his temples. Sanzo was remembering something **bad**.

As much as he could feel the emotions bubbling up, the blond remained quiet. Hakkai was focused intently on him; the gaze was enough to make Goku squirm and he wasn't even the one being watched.

"Well?" Hakkai asked.

Sanzo stared harder out the window. "He was just being a goddamn stupid kappa like he always is. Complaining, can't take care of his own problems, clingy; same old stupid fucking kappa."

"Clingy?" That was a new one for Hakkai. In all the years he'd known Gojyo, 'clingy' didn't exactly fit. The redhead was a very physical person and loved hugging and touching, but Hakkai had never seen him do it in a needy manner. '_Then again, it's not like I've ever been in a relationship with him. Maybe that's an entirely different story,'_ he pondered.

Sanzo started; he hadn't been expecting Hakkai to pick out that word. "You know what I mean. Can't leave me alone for a fucking second." He took another drag. "Don't think about it too hard. I know what goes on in that head of yours."

Hakkai only coolly retorted, "Well, Gojyo's leaving you alone now, isn't he?"

Sanzo's mouth had been open for a comeback, but with that, he snapped it shut and whirled to face the window. The hand not holding the cigarette clenched into a fist.

"Wha-?" Goku blinked in surprise. He'd never expected something like that to come from his quiet friend.

Goku stood up from the chair, feeling the nervous energy coil up inside of him. "Look, none a' this is gettin' us anywhere! You guys are both pissed at each other, when really it's that stupid **kappa** we should all be pissed at! It's his fault for gettin' snatched in the first place, so we gotta go get him an' kick his ass for bein' an idiot! You guys can sit here and fight, but **I'm** gonna go look for info. Better 'n sittin' around doin' nothin'!" That being said, he stormed out, leaving the door open behind him.

Hakuryu, who up until now had been cleaning his wings and listening with hesitation to the fighting, perked up and flew off after Goku. Hakkai and Sanzo continued their hostile silence.

-+-

Goku stomped all the way down the stairs and into the lobby of the inn before he realized that no one was following or paying attention to him and that the act was rather childish in itself. His rush of words back there had sounded all right to him at the time, but he really didn't know where to begin getting information. '_Do people here even __**know**__ there was a youkai army a couple hours outside town?'_

He frowned and came to a halt on the porch of the inn, leaning against one of the pillars. He was worried about Sanzo, confused about Hakkai, and more than a little miffed at Gojyo for letting himself get taken in the first place. On top of it all…

"Dammit! I'm **starving**!" Goku ranted to the heavens. His stomach growled loudly in agreement. The whole mess with Gojyo's disappearance had caused the group to completely skip lunch, which normally would not stand with the teen.

Luckily for Goku, a few of the outdoor food stalls in the market hadn't packed up yet and he was able to get a few things with several small coins he'd been carrying around. It wasn't quite as nice as getting everything he wanted using Sanzo's gold card, but it would do to tide him over.

He sat down on the sidewalk, carefully balancing a bowl of teriyaki and rice in one hand and a can of soda with two meatbuns precariously stacked on top of it in the other. That was when he noticed a small presence above him.

"Kyuu!" Hakuryu had finally located the youngest member of the group and chirped happily as he landed next to Goku. The dragon sniffed the air briefly and wagged his long white tail, equally long neck stretching into Goku's lap where the food was.

"Heh… guess you wanna share, huh?" Goku asked, grinning. Hakuryu looked up at him with pleading eyes, trying to indicate that he was at a similar level of starvation. It was a very distinct 'pity me' look which Goku himself had employed on occasion. The boy gave in and broke off a tiny bit of one of the meatbuns to feed to the dragon. Goku knew that Hakkai never let Hakuryu have foods with sauces or spices on them, in case the seasonings didn't agree with the little guy, so Goku was more than happy to keep the teriyaki to himself.

The two had just finished their makeshift meal when Goku felt another presence, bigger and much more powerful than Hakuryu's. He felt something that reminded him of fire in the youkai's aura and knew immediately what was going on.

"Kougaiji…" he mumbled, dropping his trash to the ground. Hakuryu kyuu-ed softly, neck fur bristling. Goku looked around for the source of the enormous chi flow and started running in the appropriate direction, which looked to be the forest just outside of town. He quickly summoned the Nyoi-bo as he ran, all sorts of thoughts going through his mind.

'_What's Kougaiji doin' here? Maybe they want th' sutra again. Great, jus' what we need when that stupid cockroach is missin'!'_

Everything was a blur until Goku reached the forest itself. He saw two Hiryu (1) tied to trees and narrowed his eyes, looking for their owners. Kougaiji and his followers were nowhere to be found, but Goku knew they wouldn't be foolish enough to just leave their dragons where anyone could take them. As he continued to step cautiously around the clearing, he felt a slightly different presence barreling towards him and barely had time to dodge it.

"Aw! No fair!"

Goku was finally able to focus and saw Lirin crouched a few feet away from where he'd rolled. The young princess sounded disappointed, but she was grinning widely and her eyes were lit up at the prospect of a fight.

"Lirin!" Goku called, gripping the Nyoi-bo between both of his hands and assuming a battle stance. "Where're Kougaiji 'n the others?"

Lirin scoffed, baring her claws at the boy. "Like I'd tell you where Oniichan is! I should be askin' you where Baldy and those other two guys are!"

Goku didn't answer, instead choosing to rush the girl, swinging his staff through air as she effortlessly leapt out of the way. She landed behind him and shot her foot out in a sweep kick, knocking him down.

Goku nearly fell, but managed to prop himself up on his hands. His feet shot into the air and he aimed for Lirin's face. She leapt from her crouching position and narrowly avoided him. '_Damn. Why is Lirin so fast today? This isn't cool at all!'_

It didn't help that he still had reservations about fighting a girl, regardless of her physical prowess. Hakkai had always said hitting girls was wrong, after all. Lirin attacked with a flurry of punches and Goku did his best to block them with his forearms.

"Lirin!" another voice called after a few minutes. Goku was grateful for the break, but he knew that the only person who could call off the princess was her older brother. Kougaiji emerged from the brush, looking as stern as ever and glaring daggers at his usual opponent. Lirin bounced up to the prince, giggling and turning back to Goku to stick out her tongue and pull down on her left bottom eyelid. (2)

"Kougaiji! What do you want this time?" Goku demanded, pointing the Nyoi-bo straight at the prince. "I like fightin', but today's a **real** bad day!"

"There's a simple solution to that, then." Dokugakuji appeared on Goku's right, making the teen jump slightly. "Just get that priest to give up his Scripture."

Goku grinned defiantly. "Sanzo's not gonna give up his sutra, so you're outta luck!"

As he said that, Yaone appeared to Goku's left, a few bombs between her fingers. "Where are your friends, Goku-san?"

He cursed internally. He'd walked right into a trap and now his rival and company surrounded him on three sides. Goku deepened his stance a little more. "Doesn't matter where they are!"

Kougaiji also adopted his signature fighting stance. "Then there's no choice but to settle it this way."

Goku had been having a bad day currently, but he wondered if perhaps there wasn't such a thing as a bad **lifetime. **_'Man, this sucks!'_

-+-

'_This sucks,' _Kishin cursed the gods for what he had been talked into. Up until this very morning, the short youkai with light teal skin had been starting another boring day guarding an abandoned base in the middle of the desert. The black-haired male was one of the only youkai in the entire place and the only reason he worked there was to keep up the abandoned facilities, which had once been used to hold prisoners of war that had been captured by Gyuumaoh's forces.

Needless to say, since Gyuumaoh had been sealed for several hundred years now, Kishin and his fellow soldiers didn't have much left to guard anymore. The only thing was to watch out for trespassers, of which there were few – just lost travelers that were quickly sent on their way, along with youkai teenagers looking for a 'haunted' place to explore.

Kishin had been considering clocking out a little early and heading back to the nearby oasis town where he lived and spending the night at the tavern. It was just then that an unfamiliar youkai strode through the entrance, dragging an unconscious _hanyou_ behind him. The tanned youkai had produced a seal, claimed that he was under the command of Prince Kougaiji, and that "this creature" was his prisoner. There hadn't been a prisoner in the building in almost a century, so Kishin and the other guard could only nod mutely as Seiran – the tanned youkai – continued to haul the _hanyou_ back to one of the dusty cells.

After a couple of hours, Seiran had returned, looking over the guards briefly before addressing Kishin directly. "You will take this note to the human town of Yi San," he proclaimed, holding out a folded piece of paper.

Kishin raised an eyebrow. "Me? Why don't you do it yourself, since it's being requested of you by Lord Kougaiji?" He'd never taken well to doing other people's jobs for them.

"Don't be ridiculous," Seiran said with a derisive snort. "I have to guard that dangerous beast in case anything happens."

"Shouldn't the guarding be done by, oh I don't know, the **guards**?" Shou, another soldier, grumbled, making Kishin choke back a laugh.

"Very funny, but naïve." Seiran paced a little before them. "That _hanyou_ that you think is so harmless is actually a member of Genjyo Sanzo's party – surely **that** name rings a bell."

The guards had all involuntarily sucked in their breath. Kishin had heard the horror stories from travelers who'd passed through his hometown: some insanely powerful human priest and his group of equally powerful followers had been traveling all throughout Togenkyo (3), slaughtering youkai by the dozens. If this Seiran character had been able to capture one of **them**…

Seiran had continued to work on him, convincing him that it wasn't the suicide mission he thought it would be. The tanned youkai had told him that it was a simple task to drop off one note and, should he find himself facing off against them, could rely on his guard training to defend himself.

Seiran had also provided him with some interesting weapons. He was given a few bombs filled with sleeping dust, though Seiran had not said where he acquired such a thing. Kishin was to set off one large bomb in the lobby of the hotel, where it could knock out any regular humans. He then had five smaller bombs – "five good chances," Seiran had said – to slip under the room doors and hopefully knock the Ikkou members out.

Upstairs, he snuck around until he heard all male voices in one of the rooms. Kishin slipped a bomb under the door and heard shouts when it went off. He waited a few seconds for things to clear and snuck in. He saw the priest unconscious near his bed and a man in green slumped over the table and moved to the nightstand to place the note on it.

Kishin was almost convinced he'd make it through when he felt a presence behind him. He turned, reaching for his sword, but was stopped by a flash of green. A brunet with a monocle and the coldest pair of emerald eyes he'd ever seen had caught his right arm with one hand and was holding him by the throat with the other.

"Hello," the green-eyed man began, hand clenching tighter as he kept his expression neutral. "We've been expecting you."

Notes:

(1) Hiryu – flying dragons used by the Kou-tachi

(2) Lirin's action towards Goku is often seen in anime. This is an insulting Japanese gesture that is used to tease someone.

(3) Togenkyo – Shangri-la


	5. Four: Nerve

A/N: Once again, sorry for the month-long delay between chapters. I was stuck for a while, but now the ideas are rolling again. The plotkappas have returned.

Chapter 4: Nerve

-Earlier-

After Goku stormed out of the room, Sanzo and Hakkai had been giving each other a wide berth as they waited on his return. Sanzo had seated himself on the bed and pulled out the newspaper – not that he could concentrate on any of the articles, even after rereading them three or four times – while Hakkai began rummaging through his bags. The healer wasn't looking for anything in particular; which Sanzo knew due to the pair of eyes he felt on him the entire time he was reading.

Sanzo turned the next page rather angrily, casting a glance out the window at the night sky. '_Where the hell is that monkey?'_ he wondered, unable to keep himself from the slightest touch of concern. He tried to refocus it into irritation, but Hakkai was the number one offender in that category at the moment. '_And where the fuck does Hakkai get off acting like he knows everything about me? He's so worried about the stupid cockroach that he might as well be—'_

"Sanzo," Hakkai attempted softly, breaking through the priest's thoughts. "We should stop this."

" 'We?' " the blond repeated mockingly, setting the paper down in his lap. "You're the one who's acting all pissy now that your beloved kappa pulled a disappearing act on us. I'm sure as hell not going to go out of my way to get that asshole back, so if you want to run after him, be my guest." _'That's right; if I act like I don't care, he'll back off.'_

Hakkai's eyebrow cocked at Sanzo's particular choice of adjective regarding Gojyo, but before he could question it, a spike of _youki _diverted his attention to the hallway. His eyes darted to the base of the door as a powder suddenly blew through the narrow gap there.

"Sanzo!" Hakkai covered his mouth, remembering a situation just like this way back at the beginning of the Journey, but the priest was already swaying where he sat. Sanzo forced himself to a standing position, but soon fell to the floor between the beds, unconscious.

'_Not again,'_ Hakkai thought, waiting a few more seconds for the sleeping powder to dissipate. He heard the creaking of the door opening and quickly stretched himself across the table, making it look as though he'd been knocked out, too.

The brunet's head was tilted towards the door and he kept his good eye open just enough to see a teal-skinned youkai enter the room, looking unsure. The youkai moved to the nightstand, set something down on it, and paused.

It was as good an opportunity was the healer was going to get. He silently rose, darting up behind the youkai and surprising him when he turned. Hakkai grabbed his arm before the youkai could withdraw his sword and the other hand went to the youkai's throat.

"Hello," he said, just clenching tight enough to put pressure on the youkai's windpipe. "We've been expecting you."

The youkai babbled out some nonsense about not being involved, but Hakkai wasn't exactly prepared to trust him. He dumped the stunned youkai into one of the chairs around the table and grabbed Sanzo's shoureiju that was lying nearby on the floor. Pointing it directly at the youkai, he grabbed his traveling gear and rummaged blindly, keeping his eyes on the youkai, until he felt a medium length of rope that they used to secure bags in Jeep. He looped it around the youkai torso one-handed, only lowering the gun when he tied the rope securely around the youkai's body.

"I was told that I wouldn't be killed," the youkai murmured to himself, over and over. "He told me it would be easy. Just deliver a note…"

"Who told you that?" Hakkai knew the nightstand was right behind him, but he wasn't going to let the youkai out of his sight to go retrieve the note. "What does it say?"

The teal youkai wasn't talking, except for repeating his dismay at being caught, so Hakkai decided it was best to wait for Sanzo to wake up.

-+-

_It had been annoying enough going through that whole long Cho Gonou affair. Now Sanzo was paying for a few moments of weakness and had been entrusted with watching over the recovering murderer. Gonou didn't seem like the typical serial killer and was very oddly good-natured during the time he spent healing at Keiun Temple. Eventually, he picked a new name to remind him of his indebtedness to Sanzo and was released back into Chang'An._

_It was less than a day after the newly renamed Cho Hakkai's release that he returned to the temple to ask Sanzo's permission on something. Hakkai had found that man from before, Gojyo, and wanted to know if it was okay to room with him._

_Sanzo hadn't forgotten about Gojyo, although in front of Hakkai he pretended not to know who he was talking about. Just thinking about the intense red-haired man gave him chills. The priest had told himself that since he was never going to see this Gojyo character again, he didn't need to worry about the momentary lapse of sanity he'd had._

_Gojyo came to visit, mostly to chew Sanzo out for not telling the truth about Hakkai. It hadn't been Sanzo's fault the kappa was too stupid to get the meaning of what he'd said, but the blond didn't dwell on it for too long as he noticed Gojyo outright leering at him._

"_What?" he'd snarled, a little more harshly than he'd intended to._

"_Do you like the 'do?" Gojyo asked, pointing to his head. Of course Sanzo had noticed that Gojyo had chopped all his hair off. It almost offended the priest that the long, silky red strands were gone, but he brushed off that thought with a callous comment about it being better than the kappa angsting._

_Suddenly, Gojyo took the bandana off and his normal locks tumbled to his shoulders. Sanzo felt a surge of lust – the hair always did that to him for some reason that only the gods knew – and he felt himself push up from his chair. He tried to walk over to Gojyo, but he kept getting further and further away, until Sanzo couldn't even see him anymore…_

Sanzo shot up from the floor, trying to get control over himself. He focused his blurry vision on the room and the other two people in it. '_Wait…'_

There was a teal youkai tied to one of the chairs in the room, with Hakkai pacing in front of him and holding the shoureiju. Sanzo used the bed to prop himself up and forced his body over to the driver. "What the hell is going on here?"

"This is the person responsible for knocking you out, Sanzo," the brunet explained as he handed the gun back to the priest. "He also brought us a note… it possibly has something to do with Gojyo's disappearance." From the expression on Hakkai's face, Sanzo sensed the man's subtle sarcasm.

Legs shaking, Sanzo went back over to the nightstand and picked up the piece of folded paper. Opening it carefully in case it contained any other unwelcome surprises, he found simple block handwriting.

'Genjyo Sanzo,

You may have won today's battle, but it was at the expense of one of your teammates. He will be delivered back to you in three days if you comply with these demands: hand over the Maten Sutra peacefully and return to the East. Meet with me on the same battlefield where we fought today at that time for the exchange. If you refuse to agree to this, it will be difficult to return your _hanyou_ to you in one piece.'

At the very bottom of the note was a smear of red. The metallic scent hit Sanzo's nose and he swallowed. "It's blood," he remarked, faintly hearing Hakkai make a noise of surprise. "Probably Gojyo's blood."

Hakkai looked back at the teal youkai. "Who told you to deliver this note?"

Kishin glanced down at the ground. "What happens if I don't tell you?"

"We kill you." Sanzo immediately pointed the shoureiju at Kishin's face. "You lose your usefulness if you keep quiet."

Hakkai bent down to reach Kishin's eye-level. "We'll let you go without any hassle if you just tell us who's responsible for all this."

"Yeah, right." Kishin turned his head away, closing his eyes. "I'll get killed no matter what I do. That's how the Sanzo-Ikkou works."

"Not necessarily." Hakkai stood up straight again. "If you're just being used and have no intention of actually hurting us, there's no point in harming you."

Kishin took a deep breath, considering. "I don't remember his name," he lied, "but it was some youkai who said he wanted me to deliver this to Genjyo Sanzo. He said that he worked for Lord Kougaiji."

"Kougaiji?"

Sanzo and Hakkai both looked at each other, realizing that they'd spoken in unison. Neither had known the youkai prince to resort to kidnapping, but if the youkai who'd taken Gojyo was claiming to work in his name, the situation had become all the more serious.

"We need to find Goku," Hakkai suggested. Sanzo looked back at the captured youkai, trying to take in his words. "One of us should go look for him while the other watches over…" The healer trailed off, unsure of how to refer to their prisoner.

"Kishin," the youkai offered helpfully, then grimaced and looked at the ground. "Merciful Goddess, I suck at this."

The other two men paused at that comment. This definitely wasn't a typical enemy for them.

"I'll stay here." Sanzo decided as he sat on the chair opposite Kishin.

"Are you sure you won't kill him?" Hakkai asked, moving towards the door.

"Just go find the monkey. I won't waste a bullet on this guy."

-+-

Upon exiting the inn, Hakkai looked up and found Hakuryu perched on the roof of a nearby building, jerking his head back towards the forest and chirping impatiently. Knowing that the dragon had gone off with Goku in the first place, the healer figured it best to follow him.

Hakuryu literally led him straight into the heat of battle; Kougaiji was concentrating on throwing his fire attacks right at Goku, who couldn't get close enough to hit back with his staff. The boy was mostly spending his time jumping around avoiding the flames.

Dokugakuji and Yaone stood on the sidelines, prepared in case their lord required their assistance. Lirin was pacing back and forth near the other two, making jabs in the air and yelling suggestions to her older brother, who did not look amused.

Hakkai walked straight up to Yaone and Doku, who detected his presence right away. "What's going on here?"

Yaone immediately moved to face him; Doku hung back slightly, resting his sword at his side. "Kougaiji-sama has returned for the Maten Sutra. We suggest you hand it over immediately."

Hakkai tried not to show his surprise. "You already sent someone for that."

Doku leaned on the sword. "What are you talking about? Kou doesn't make anyone else do his job for him."

"Well, I could've sworn—" He was cut off when Goku was finally able to zip up close enough to get in a punch. Kougaiji stumbled backwards, his concentration broken momentarily. It was barely a second before he hit back, knocking Goku away. It didn't deter the younger man as he looked for a new opening.

The two fighters were completely oblivious to the others talking nearby. Goku dissipated one of Kougaiji's fireballs with the top of the Nyoi-bo, but the prince blocked him when he came in to punch once again. Hakkai was watching out of the corner of his eye, but his attention was diverted back by a flash of metal.

Yaone had her spear out and stepped forward against Hakkai. "Now that you're here, we must face each other as well."

"I'm afraid that I really don't have time for that today," Hakkai replied, taking a step back and stirring up the chi in the center of his body, just in case. "We have a much bigger situation on our hands."

"Oh yeah?" Now Dokugakuji was raising his sword towards the healer. "What might that be?"

"Ask your leader; it seems that it was his idea."

At that, Yaone lunged right at him, barely giving Hakkai time to dodge. He knew that she was taking his comment as an insult towards Kougaiji and Hakkai could hardly blame her; however, he also knew that kidnapping was taking it a little far for this group. He didn't add anything else on to his statement, as he was too busy avoid her spear, along with Doku's interfering sword.

Goku ducked yet another blast and happened to glance over at the other fighters. "Hakkai? What're you doin' here?" he called.

Hakkai shot some chi over to Yaone's left, intentionally missing her, but causing her to hesitate. "I came to find you. I succeeded in that endeavor."

"Great. What's up?"

Hakkai and Goku were now backed up against each other. The rest of Kougaiji's group circled them. "Aside from being outnumbered, we may have a lead on our missing friend."

"Missing?" Lirin stopped and crouched down to the right of Hakkai. "Who's missing? Don't tell me Baldy ran away!"

"Oh, like we'd tell you!" Goku shot back, narrowing his eyes at her. "You shouldn't be eavesdropping!"

"I have a feeling that they already know," Hakkai said, raising his hands in case a chi blast was required. He addressed his next comment to the prince. "One of your subordinates told us that he was sent to us in your name. He delivered a ransom note as well."

Kougaiji had finally acknowledged the healer's presence. "Ransom note? Don't be ridiculous. I would never kidnap anyone." He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's a coward's method."

Goku blinked, just as confused. "Yeah, Hakkai, Kougaiji would never kidnap anyone. That other youkai had ta be lyin'."

"What is this 'subordinate's' name?" the prince demanded, taking a few steps closer to Hakkai.

The healer didn't back down. "He told us that he was called 'Kishin,'" he responded coolly. "He also seemed very amateur in his attempts at not being detected."

"I've never heard of anyone by that name. There must be a mistake."

Goku, Dokugakuji, Yaone, and Lirin all watched the conversation between Kougaiji and Hakkai, slightly in awe. The language remained formal the entire time, but something simmered underneath their words. It was a challenge of sorts – an affront to Kougaiji's honor that he be accused of such a thing.

"Then, perhaps you should ask Kishin-san yourself."

Goku felt his mouth fall open. '_There's no way Hakkai's seriously sayin' he wants Kougaiji to come to where we're stayin'!_' However, Hakkai's suggestion was nothing compared to the prince's response.

"Perhaps I will."

-+-

Sanzo had given up on Kishin no more than fifteen minutes after Hakkai had left in search of Goku. The priest wasn't about to reveal any kind of weakness by asking about Gojyo – not that he was concerned anyway, he told himself – and the youkai was mostly fixated on the shoureiju that Sanzo kept in plain view at all times. '_He's already scared shitless of me,_' Sanzo thought. '_Asking questions is going to get me nowhere right now_.'

In a way, it was almost flattering to think that rumors of oneself had spread so far that you were feared by more than a few dozen people. Sanzo was mostly interested in anonymity, but this was an interesting twist. He considered if it was possible to play on this.

Kishin had no idea what to think of the human standing nearby. From all the accounts he'd heard from others, this Sanzo was a dangerous, youkai-murdering psychopath who defied all the laws of his religion. It seemed that the rumors weren't too far from the truth. However, Kishin was still alive and he decided to take advantage of that however long he could.

Sanzo lit up another cigarette and the smoke drifted over, making Kishin cough. When violet eyes flashed dangerously in his direction, the youkai sucked in a painful breath. "S-sorry. It's not a big deal; my buddy Shou smokes, too. He just doesn't usually blow it in my face—" He stopped when he heard the click of the gun's safety going off.

"If you know anything at all about me, then you'd know that I hate people who talk too much," Sanzo commented, casually checking the chamber of the gun. He scanned his weapon slowly, giving the youkai time to sweat. "The more they blab on and on, the less patience I have in letting them live."

Kishin swallowed. "You promised your friend that you wouldn't—"

He received another fierce glare. "I don't **have** friends."

The youkai decided it was wise to shut up now.

Sanzo turned back to stare out the window. The sun was now down and he could see the faint outline of the moon high overhead. Goku and Hakkai had been gone for a very long time, but that didn't concern the priest very much, beyond his usual aggravation at being kept waiting.

Instead, he was annoyed with his body as it began to subconsciously expect what had become a nightly ritual. Either the two would share a room, or Sanzo would be alone at the window like this, and Gojyo would come over and start it.

_"I need you, Sunshine," the kappa would whisper in his ear and then that would be Sanzo's cue to turn around. They'd kiss, deeply and passionately, while preparing for the next step._

_In the two months that they'd been together, Gojyo had been teaching Sanzo the art of foreplay and the priest had to admit that he almost enjoyed it; Gojyo would tease him with kisses and trailing his fingertips down bare skin. Sanzo had been surprised the first time when he realized they'd made out for an entire hour and still weren't ready to move on to the sex._

_The sex – he'd never been a part of something so passionate before. It was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. It was a point during the night when Gojyo became Sanzo's entire world; there was no Mission, no battles, no responsibilities. He willingly let his guard down and let himself breathe…_

"You… uh, you still there?"

Kishin's voice brought Sanzo back and the priest jumped involuntarily. He glared extra hard at the prisoner, for good measure; Sanzo hated when someone shocked or startled him, since he liked to think himself impervious to most of humanity.

Before Sanzo could think up a witty response, he heard familiar footsteps clomping their way up the stairs. '_At least the monkey's back…'_

"Sanzo!" Goku burst in without knocking or any sense of formality, as usual. He looked out of breath and his eyes were wide.

Sanzo raised an eyebrow curiously. "What are you so worked up about?"

Goku took a moment and a few deep breaths. Kishin was watching the newcomer intently. "Hakkai says we gotta bring th' youkai down to the forest. Kougaiji an' the others are waitin' there. They said they didn't send anyone!"

"Kougaiji?" Kishin sat up straight in the chair, ignoring the rope that held him firmly in place. "His Highness is here? Right now?!"

Sanzo looked straight at Goku. The boy never lied and when the priest thought about it, Kishin's connection to the prince was hazy at best. "Fine, then. But it's your idea, so you handle him."

Goku blinked. "Huh?"

-+-

It was even more of a hassle to get the youkai out of the inn without being noticed by any humans. Goku had ended up throwing a sheet over Kishin's head and leading him down the stairs, explaining to the confused night clerk that the man underneath was very sick and possibly contagious with some sort of disease. That kept away any questions.

Sanzo brought up the rear, which was unnatural for him, but he was loath to let the youkai out of his sight. He still kept the thought in the back of his mind that Kishin's ineptitude could be an act or a trap of some kind. '_Taking him to meet Kougaiji might be a mistake in that case. We'll have to keep him under our control.'_

Back in the clearing where the fight had taken place, Sanzo and Goku led the prisoner over to where Hakkai was standing. Across from him stood the entire Kou-tachi, looking on with varying degrees of interest.

Goku finally pulled the sheet off and Kishin's eyes darted around cautiously. He finally noticed the group of youkai and gasped, falling to his knees.

"Kougaiji-sama…" he whispered, getting down as far as he could to the ground. He'd never met any sort of youkai royalty before, but he knew he had to be as subservient as possible. A part of his mind still desperately wanted to go home.

The prince stepped forward and looked down at the teal youkai. "You say that you are called Kishin. Who sent you and why are you claiming that you work in my name?"

Kishin opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was too overwhelmed to gather his thoughts at the moment.

"He said that he didn't remember—" Hakkai started, but Kougaiji kept his attention on the youkai.

"I was asking him."

Goku balled his hands into fists. "Hey, that guy was tryin' t' kill Hakkai an' Sanzo an' they were the ones who tied 'im up! I think they'd know!"

"Goku," Sanzo's tone was firm and the boy looked up to him with wide golden eyes, but remained silent. "I want to hear what he has to say," the priest continued, withdrawing a cigarette.

"Okay, okay," Kishin managed, looking back up but still avoiding his prince's intense purple eyes. "I work at the prison a couple of hours from here… it's for enemies of Gyuumaoh-sama's who have been captured in battle. It's just… there haven't been any prisoners there in forever. Then today, some guy showed up dragging a _hanyou_ behind him and said he was working for you, My Lord."

"A _hanyou_?" Kougaiji looked over at the Ikkou, noticing that only three of them were present.

Dokugakuji stepped up behind the prince. "What happened to Gojyo?"

Sanzo sighed. "Did you even **listen** to that guy? He just told you." He took another long drag, looking as indifferent as he could.

Kougaiji, meanwhile, was deep in thought. Something from the other day was nagging at the back of his mind – something that was connected to all of this. He ran over the events of the previous day: deciding to go after the Sanzo-Ikkou, finding out about the embarrassing relationship, and Seiran's plan to… kidnap…

"That fool," he snarled, making Yaone and Doku turn to him in concern. "I should have known he'd disobey me."

"Who?" Now that there was a lead, Sanzo took a step forward. He pointed the shoureiju at Kishin. "This clown's telling the truth, then?"

Kougaiji remembered who surrounded him at the moment and narrowed his eyes. "This doesn't concern you, Genjyo Sanzo."

"It's a member of my group that your man kidnapped and it's **my** inconvenience," Sanzo retorted, ignoring the odd looks he was receiving, both from his own group and the Kou-tachi. "If that moron went and got himself taken by someone you know, then I think you should let us in on your little revelation."

"It's a simple problem of insubordination," Kougaiji said, turning away from the priest. "A problem that we can handle alone. Yaone, Dokugaku, Lirin!" He called each of them and they responded in the affirmative. "We're heading out to the prison immediately."

"Wait a minute!" Goku darted forward, staying only a few feet clear of the prince. "What are you gonna do with the kappa when you find him? An'… an' what about him?" He pointed directly at Kishin, who was still down on the ground. "He's your guy!"

"I don't know him and he doesn't work for me." Kougaiji was firm in both stance and words. "You can release him. He poses no threat."

"And as for Gojyo?" Hakkai asked.

"I don't care what happens to him. I will discipline the offender and then your teammate can return to you on his own, if he wishes."

"Listen," the healer continued. "There's a very good possibility Gojyo is injured. Considering that he might not be able to walk or move very well at all, we need to be there to help him. Surely you wouldn't just leave a rival to a death by starvation or infection. That wouldn't be very honorable."

Kougaiji was on the edge of snapping at Hakkai. He had never taken issue with the human-turned-youkai up until now, but it seemed that the man was very good at pushing all of his buttons in just the right way to eat at his sense of duty. It also didn't help that he could feel Dokugakuji's eyes burning a hole in the back of his head. '_I do have to remember that Sha Gojyo is Dokugaku's brother… It would be cruel of me to just let a relative of a friend die.'_

He stopped, knowing that everyone else around him had stopped moving as well, waiting for what he was going to say next. "Very well. If you insist upon tagging along—"

"Hey!" Goku interjected, but the prince ignored it.

"You may follow us to the prison, but from there you are on your own. This isn't some sort of team-up. We're enemies… remember that for when this ordeal is over. We'll face each other again, in fair combat."

"Whatever," Sanzo said with a sigh. He couldn't bring himself to care even one bit about Kougaiji's insistence on fair play. The only positive outcome was that if Gojyo really was injured, the prince and his friends would wait a little while before engaging in another battle. '_At least I get an occasional break from __**some**__ of the people who annoy me.'_

"Kougaiji-sama." Yaone spoke for the first time since Kishin had been brought to them. "It's already nightfall. Even using the dragons from the air, we wouldn't be able to locate the prison in the dark. It would be better to wait until morning."

"It's in the middle of nowhere," Kougaiji insisted. "I'd prefer to get there at night, when it will be harder to be detected. Besides, I don't have problems seeing in the dark." He directed the comment towards the priest, knowing full well that youkai vision was much better than that of a human's.

Sanzo didn't even notice, as he'd gotten out another cigarette and was staring back at the lights of the town. Internally, he'd found that the conversation, even between their supposed enemies, was lacking. There was a certain voice that would have chimed in many times over and despite Sanzo's attempts to ignore that fact, he found the absence of Gojyo's banter quite annoying. He clenched the cigarette tighter between his fingers when he realized the absurdity of being annoyed by the lack of the 'annoying' kappa.

'_Would he even agree on anything anyone's saying?'_ Sanzo wondered, exhaling and watching the smoke rise up. _'Hell, he'd probably be bored already and be trying to bum a smoke off of me.'_

"Sanzo?" Goku's voice brought him back to the present and he looked down at his charge.

"What is it, monkey?" Sanzo turned back to see that everyone was looking at him expectantly. "Did I miss something?"

"Kougaiji-san and the rest are going to camp out here tonight and we'll head out in the morning." Hakkai stated this matter-of-factly, but Sanzo guessed that what had transpired while he was zoned out involved more wheedling on the part of the healer and the apothecary.

"Since I'm the only one who has a limiter on hand right now, I'll go pick up some supplies for the night," Yaone suggested, all but confirming Sanzo's suspicions. "After all, Hakkai-san did mention that one of the convenience stores was still open late."

"Someone like you actually camps?" Sanzo muttered, flicking the ash off of the end of his cigarette in Kougaiji's general direction.

"It's not a problem," Kou said, though he sounded more self-assured than he felt at the moment.

Hakuryu reappeared from a high branch in a nearby tree and transformed into Jeep. Hakkai then offered Yaone a ride back into town so that she wouldn't have to walk. When everyone but Goku and Lirin seemed to be reading into it, Hakkai reassured them that for now, they were just being civil to one another. In the meantime, Doku agreed to take one of the dragons and drop Kishin off back at his home.

"For your trouble," Kougaiji offered to the guard. "Do you have a family? Wife and children?"

Kishin shook his head slowly. "No, but I am taking care of my parents… They're elderly…"

"Very well," the prince decided. "You'll be returned to your home and I'll send some money so that you can take care of your parents. Think of it as a retirement package for your years of hard work guarding the prison."

Kishin blinked. "T-thank you, My Lord."

As this transpired, the Ikkou prepared to head back to their hotel room for the third time. Settling himself into the front passenger seat, Sanzo wondered if he shouldn't spend a little more time paying attention to the lives of the people around him.

'_Shit, what am I saying? Forget being infected by the kappa's stupidity, I think it's a full-blown disease.'_

-+-

Sanzo and Goku returned to their room, but Hakkai suggested that he go out and buy some things as well. In his opinion, Yaone was already going out and it might be dangerous to be alone at night.

Sanzo personally thought Hakkai was trying a little too hard.

The two healers headed out, mostly just making small talk until they arrived at the small store. It didn't have a lot of supplies and the cashier looked half-asleep, but at least they were the only customers in the entire place.

Hakkai was debating between two different flavors of coffee – Sanzo really preferred the dark roast, but the regular in the same brand was on **sale** – when he noticed a presence over his left shoulder. Yaone was looking over, inspecting his choices.

"I didn't know you drank coffee."

"Only rarely." He put back the discounted can, inner bargain-hunter screaming in defeat, and tucked his choice under his arm. "Sanzo drinks most of it, as does Gojyo…" He stopped, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry. This is really unusual for us."

"When you spend a lot of time with someone, it makes it all the more obvious when they're missing," Yaone said, offering back her own reassuring smile. "You get used to the way things are."

They paid for the rest of their items and left, to what was probably the relief of the exhausted cashier. Yaone had three bags and Hakkai only one, so he naturally offered to carry some of her things for her.

"You really don't have to be so nice," she insisted when they took a breather by sitting down next to a softly bubbling fountain. "As Kougaiji-sama said, we are enemies."

He laughed. "That's true. Besides, I'm actually a very evil person." He tried to make it sound light-hearted, but it came off as more ambiguous instead.

Yaone paused for a moment, trying to figure out if he was joking or not, then finally smiled along with him. "I'm sure you are."

Hakkai looked up at the stars, taking a deep breath. He could feel Yaone's warmth next to him on his left and he tried to focus on something else before his mind started wandering to things he swore to avoid. "Who is this person that Kougaiji-san thinks is behind all this?"

Yaone folded her hands in her lap before speaking. "His name is Seiran. He was just promoted to directly working under Kougaiji-sama this year. He always seemed like a patient, rational man… however…"

"However?"

"This last time we saw him, he acted a bit differently. He almost argued with Kougaiji-sama when his plan was rejected."

"His plan…" Hakkai put his hands down on the stone and used his arms to prop his body up. "I suppose that the kidnapping was part of the plan? Once Kougaiji-san rejected doing such a thing, he took matters into his own hands."

"That seems to be the case." Yaone copied Hakkai's actions and looked up at the stars as well. "It's just so strange; we've never known him to be so impulsive."

"Is it possible that someone else is working with him?" Hakkai realized that Yaone's fingers were brushing his own and quickly adjusted so that they were no longer touching.

"I suppose so, but I wouldn't know who."

Hakkai had leaned back again before noticing that his left hand had slid back and was up against Yaone's right hand again. He waited to see if she would object to the hand's position, but when she didn't say anything, he decided he needed to continue the conversation so as to eliminate the awkward silence.

"Why would he take Gojyo? Or was the plan just to kidnap any one of us that he could get a hold of?"

Abruptly, Yaone stood up and Hakkai could see a blush appearing across her face. "I'm afraid that we really shouldn't be talking like this, Hakkai-san. We're… we're enemies and sharing information like this is forbidden. I'm truly sorry. I should've said something earlier—"

The healer felt startled and it must have shown, because Yaone kept apologizing. He held up his hands in a placating manner. "Now, now, it's not your fault. I know that we both find it… difficult to think of each other as enemies."

Hakkai froze as soon as the words left his mouth. '_Have I gone mad? What am I saying?'_ This had gone beyond the level of polite and professional and had become exactly what he had been trying to avoid. "What I mean to say is—"

Yaone was still blushing as she grabbed up her bags of supplies. "Kougaiji-sama and the others will be wondering where I am. Your friends probably as well… That is, they'll be wondering about you…" She babbled on for a bit as she tried to adjust her things.

Hakkai had a sinking feeling. He had ruined their perfect moment, however unintentional, and now Yaone was fleeing. "We'll still… see you tomorrow then, Yaone-san?" He wasn't sure if adding the honorific would help ease her discomfort, but he figured it couldn't hurt.

"Yes," she said. "Good night, Hakkai-san." With that, she turned her back to him and darted off down the street towards the forest.

Hakkai sat there for a minute longer, resting and closing his eyes, trying to recover. "It's been a long day," he decided quietly.

-+-

Yaone cursed herself as she ran back to the place where they were camping for the night. Her loyalties lay with Kougaiji and no one else; to even consider having a close conversation with one of his opponents was almost treason in her mind.

She stopped a few feet outside of town, dropping the bags rather gracelessly and leaning against a tree, panting. "I'm an idiot," she whispered between shallow breaths.

It wasn't as though these were new feelings – Yaone had always felt admiration for the men in her life, in a familial or professional sense, and had even fancied herself in love with her prince at the beginning of her service to him. In reality, it had been something of an infatuation for Yaone, a harmless crush that wouldn't lead anywhere. Yaone had decided not long after that she was no longer interested in crushes and meaningless pursuits of romance.

Of course, no sooner had she decided to give up on such things when her prince got a new mission: eliminating the Sanzo-Ikkou. Yaone had gladly taken on the role of assassin for her lord, but found the Ikkou to be formidable opponents beyond expectations. Another thing she hadn't expected was for her regular sparring partner to care about her wellbeing as much as he did.

Cho Hakkai was extremely difficult to fight. Yaone first assumed that he was going easy on her or pitying her because of her gender, but that turned out not to be the case. She was relieved that his actions weren't motivated by sexism; anytime she had experienced that in the past, it had only led to her beating up the so-called "superior male."

Instead, Hakkai chose not to fight in earnest against her because he saw how useless it was. Neither had a deep desire to kill the other and he explained that he found her interesting to talk to. She was impressed by his tactical skills and knowledge; it was no surprise that he was the most educated member of the Ikkou. Most impressive to Yaone was the fact that he was one of the few males in her life who never made blatant attempts to hit on her and spoke to her like an equal.

Yaone didn't remember the exact moment when she transitioned from liking that to wondering why he hadn't overtly flirted with her and why it bothered her so much that he didn't. However, she decided it must have been the point at which they almost stopped fighting altogether and began having longer, more in depth conversations. Yaone felt sick when she realized she missed the sound of his voice when they went too long between confrontations.

"Yaone?"

She jerked up, whirling around and ready to fight when she noticed that Dokugakuji was the one addressing her. Relaxing only slightly, she started to once again pick up her things. "I'm sorry I'm so late. You've already returned from taking Kishin-san home and I'm so slow—"

"Hey, chill out."

Yaone felt a strong hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Doku offering her a smile and a wink. The tall youkai grabbed two of her bags from her and started off through the trees. Looking past him, Yaone could faintly make out a fire in the background.

"You're entitled to spend as much time with your 'friend' as you want." Doku paused and waited for her to catch up. "I won't tell."

Yaone wondered if she was doomed to spend the rest of her life with her face bright red.


	6. Five: Toy

A/N: I know that it's been nearly two months since the last update. I've had the chapter finished for some time, but my beta and I weren't able to communicate very much over the summer and just now got all of the issues worked out. It's also a lot shorter than my usual chapter length. I guess it makes up for the last one being too long.

Five: Toy

Night had officially arrived in the prison cell; Gojyo now found himself bathed in darkness. One tiny sliver of moonlight managed to filter in through the narrow window and cast a small spotlight just a yard or so away from his feet.

Several hours had passed since the youkai that had captured him came to talk. Gojyo was still waiting on that supposed bandage job after all that time.

The blood from the wound was dry; before that, Gojyo could only watch as the red further stained his pants. He hadn't had a cigarette in hours and the lack of nicotine wasn't helping the situation.

His vision blurred briefly, which he attributed to the exhaustion, and he saw a form standing in the moonlight. He saw white robes and mumbled Sanzo's name before he could stop himself. Gojyo blinked again and saw that there was no one there.

'_Figures. Am I already delusional?'_

He jumped when someone outside knocked softly on the door. It didn't seem like the style of the youkai from before to give him that particular courtesy, but Gojyo dreaded the visitor just the same.

The door opened after the person on the other side struggled with the lock for a few seconds, allowing a pale youkai man to step into the room. His features were rather plain, dark brown hair and eyes along with normal, loose-fitting clothing, and Gojyo almost mistook him for a human until he saw the telltale ears and nails.

The new youkai shut the door carefully behind him. He knelt down next to the captive redhead and looked him straight in the eyes. A wry smile was settled across his features. "Hope I didn't make ya wait too long."

Gojyo narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, 'cuz you know I can't get enough of these torture sessions." It was then that Gojyo noticed that he was carrying a first aid kit and a water bottle.

The youkai snorted. "Who said anything about torture sessions? I'm here to patch ya up." At that, he opened up the kit and started removing some bandages. "He got ya good, didn't he?"

Gojyo winced as the youkai tenderly examined the wound. "Not one of my better moments, I'll admit."

The youkai started washing the blood off of Gojyo's skin and the kappa thought the water felt refreshing beyond belief. The youkai worked in silence as he put a crude wrap around Gojyo's abdomen, tying it in a loose bow. "Can't do much about the pants, I'm afraid."

Gojyo looked down at the makeshift bandage. "Not your fault." He sighed and looked up at the window. "Now all I need is a smoke and I'm set." _'And a naked, horny blond in my lap, but he doesn't need to know that.'_

As soon as he said it, the youkai began digging around in his pockets. "You particular to brand?"

Eyes lighting up, Gojyo felt his usual grin returning. "I'm a Hi-Lite man, personally, but at this point, I'll take whatever ya got."

The youkai produced a small red and white package that Gojyo immediately recognized. "All I got is Marlboro… sure that's okay?"

Gojyo stared down at the wound again, trying to ignore the tightening in his chest. "Like I said, I'll take anything ya got."

Seconds later, the youkai placed a cigarette between Gojyo's lips and offered up his lighter. The kappa took a deep breath, instantly relaxing. He had never enjoyed the taste of this brand before, but the scent was now attached to some very pleasant images, which he needed at the moment. '_If only he hadn't been so stupid and paranoid. Hell, if I'd only let it slide for once… bet I wouldn't be in this mess.'_

The youkai lit up a stick for himself as well and began collecting the pieces of the first aid kit. "Shou."

"What?"

Tapping off some of the ash, the youkai repeated it. "Shou. That's my name."

"Ah." Gojyo rolled the cigarette to the side of his mouth. "Gojyo. But you probably already knew that."

"Actually, I didn't." Shou stood up, kit in one hand and the water bottle in the other. "I just knew you were one 'a Sanzo's lackeys."

Gojyo raised an eyebrow. "I resent being called a lackey."

"Whatever." Shou set down the first aid kit, moved closer, and offered the water bottle when Gojyo finished his smoke. After removing the redhead's finished cigarette, he put the bottle closer. "If you're finished, take this. He didn't say whether or not to feed ya, but I can't let a guy go all night without anythin'."

Gojyo sat up straight, eagerly drinking from the bottle. It felt like ages since he'd eaten or drank anything. After a few seconds and nearly gagging when he tried drinking too fast, he pulled back. "You're a real stand-up guy, Shou. Not at all like your buddy from before."

"He's not my buddy," Shou said, moving towards the door. "In fact, I'd be just as happy if he packed up and left as soon as possible. Seiran's a pain in the ass, that's what."

Gojyo closed his eyes. "Seiran, huh?"

-+-

When Yaone returned to where they where making camp for the night, Lirin was already curled up against one of the Hiryu. The prince had started a small fire and was conversing quietly with Doku.

After checking that Lirin was comfortable and settled in for the night, Yaone unfurled a few blankets and tried to make the ground more welcoming. It was an appreciated distraction from her earlier conversation with Hakkai and put anything but rest out of her mind for the time being. At least, she hoped that would be the case. Tomorrow would be a different story, especially since the two groups were going to be traveling together.

Out of the corner of her eye, Yaone watched Kougaiji. She would gladly sleep on the cold, hard ground if it meant that the prince wouldn't have to. To her, it looked like he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon.

Out of Yaone's earshot, Kougaiji crouched near the fire and watched the dancing flames. He had started this fire the natural way, instead of using his powers. It helped to make him feel a little more self-reliant this way.

Thinking back to the fight he'd had with Goku that evening, Kougaiji wondered what had possessed him to make the deal that he had with Sanzo and his group. He constantly reminded himself and the others that they weren't supposed to be friends or allies with them in the slightest. Yet, here he was, waiting for dawn so that they could take care of the mess that Seiran had created.

'_Perhaps,'_ he thought to himself, _'I've been too distracted lately. First, the information about Sanzo himself; then, Yaone acting suspiciously… even Dokugaku seems like he's keeping something from me.'_ He stood up, realizing he'd been staring at the campfire for far too long, and attempted to set up his own sleeping place for the night.

Kougaiji hated feeling out of the loop; he had the distinct impression that ever since he'd gone on his little stint as Ni's puppet, things hadn't been the same. '_If it was far too easy to manipulate me, I've obviously let my guard down,'_ he decided. '_I'm not about to let something that serious happen again. I have to become more observant. Seiran wouldn't have gone off on this crazy plan of his if I had kept a better watch on him.'_

"So, how long you plannin' on stayin' lost in your thoughts?" Doku finally spoke up and Kougaiji was slightly ashamed that he'd forgotten the other man was there. They had been talking about the camp layout for the night when Kougaiji decided to start the fire and had gotten distracted. As the prince cast his eyes on the ground, the taller youkai smiled. "It's okay. In the future, though, if I'm borin' ya, just tell me."

"It's nothing," Kougaiji said a little too quickly. "I'm just contemplating the best way to discipline Seiran for his actions."

"I didn't know you cared about Sanzo's group so much that you would go and get one of 'em outta trouble."

Kougaiji looked up towards Doku's face, which flickered with shadows from the fire. "It's not because he captured one of Sanzo's people. He deliberately disobeyed me—"

"Not to mention he's got some potentially damaging info on his person." Doku tried to shift over to a more serious expression as he pondered just what Kougaiji's punishment would be for Seiran.

Kougaiji nodded. "We weren't intending to use that knowledge against any member of the Ikkou. I should've known that it would lead to something exactly like this. I'm not sure if he intends to kill Sha Gojyo, but it seems likely."

"Well, it **would** suck to have to sit out battles in the future because he's not there to face off against me." Doku then moved to set up his own bedroll. He took a deep breath as soon as his back was to the prince. '_It's exactly the kind of thing I warned Gojyo about. Hopefully, we can reach him before Seiran does any real physical damage.'_

-+-

He almost couldn't believe the things he went through to keep himself entertained. Here it was, the dead of night, and the man was out traveling through a dense forest, with only the full moon overhead for company.

He had never really minded the presence of the moon before; it was comforting and familiar in an irritatingly calm way. Now, however, the beams felt like judgment. The moon either thought he wasn't moving fast enough, or in a very fair manner. He could never tell which alternative the stubborn celestial body desired.

"Not now, Koumyou," he whispered, brushing aside a low-hanging tree branch. "I'm still playing by the rules, however few of them there are."

The moon didn't budge from its lofty sky view.

A gust of wind ruffled the Muten sutra that lay on his shoulders and his black robes moved as well. He was being pushed back, but it neither surprised nor deterred him.

"Now who's being unfair?" he asked, a smirk playing on his lips. "I don't recall giving you control over the wind as well."

He continued his one-sided conversation as the forest cleared, showing a dirt road leading off into the distance. "A sutra is a sutra, dear Koumyou. If little Kouryuu is having difficulties seeing it as the most important thing, that's his problem, now isn't it?"

Satisfied with this retort, Ukoku Sanzo continued along the path. If he had read the maps correctly, he would reach the little town by morning. He wondered if the same could be said for Genjyo Sanzo and his friends. After all, Seiran was supposed to be keeping them very busy.

-+-

The entire night was a restless one for the Ikkou. Due to the fact that three of them were sharing one room, Sanzo and Hakkai each took one of the twin beds, right and left side respectively, while Goku was regulated to a cot at the foot of Hakkai's bed. This barely left room for the table by the foot of Sanzo's bed, the nightstand in between the beds, and a pathway to the tiny little bathroom.

Goku moaned a little about being hungry before bed and as a result, slept very lightly on his cot, waking up at the slightest creak or thump. Hakkai lay on his side, keeping his head facing towards the door, in case of another attack. He woke up on the pretense of using the restroom about four times that night. Hakuryu was curled up next to Hakkai on the pillow. From the occasional chirping noises he made, it was evident that the dragon was on high alert as well.

Sanzo was sitting on his bed with his legs pulled close to his chest, resting his arms on his knees. He leaned against the wall and struggled to keep his eyes open. The moon sent a faint light through the window and illuminated the floor between the beds. He tried to stare at it to stay conscious, but it was a losing battle. His vision blurred several times and when he finally agreed to rest his eyes for a while, he was out. The next thing he knew, it was already dawn and the sun was peeking up from the distant mountains.

"Morning already." Hakkai's soft voice came to Sanzo's left, where he saw the healer standing, awake but trying to stifle a yawn. "That was fast."

"Time to get a move on," Sanzo decided, but his body had other plans. He swayed uneasily as he attempted to get out of his sitting position. Most embarrassing of all was how he almost fell off of the bed before steadying himself on top of the mattress. His legs had cramped from spending all night sitting up against the wall. In addition, his stumbling was the thing that finally woke up Goku, who had been drooling and softly snoring.

Goku rolled up to a sitting position and yawned. "Izzit time fer breakfast?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and looking up at Sanzo and Hakkai.

Hakkai gave the teen a small smile. "More accurately, it's time to locate our friend, Goku."

Goku thought for a moment, looking down at his lap and then beamed up at Hakkai. "Gojyo would'a wanted us t' have breakfast b'fore goin' t' get 'im."

"Ever hopeful, aren't you?" Hakkai mused. "Very well, if it's what Gojyo would have wanted."

Sanzo finally got to his feet, pretending the incident of nearly falling had never happened. "Make it quick, monkey. We have no idea when Prince Pretty-boy is going to decide to take off… and I don't think he'll mind too much if he has to leave without us."

Goku immediately scurried over to the bag of supplies that Hakkai had purchased last night and rummaged through it until he found something that suited him. As Hakkai started picking up some of the items that had been carelessly tossed aside – in particular, a can of coffee – Sanzo cleared his throat.

The healer looked back at him expectantly and Sanzo suddenly found it difficult to look him in the eyes. Sanzo had never been too good with prying into people's personal lives and this was no exception. "You… were out pretty late last night. No problems, I assume?"

Hakkai gave him one of those smiles that involved closed lips and shut eyes. Sanzo hated those kinds of smiles. It meant, among other things, that Hakkai knew things that Sanzo didn't and was unwilling to share with him. "No problems at all… unless you count the store being out of chicken-flavored ramen as a problem."

Goku looked up from stuffing his face with some sort of cereal bar. "Did Yaone get all the stuff she needed?"

"I believe so."

Sanzo began gathering up his things and Hakkai excused himself, along with his pet, out of the room so that he could prepare Jeep for the day's mission. As soon as the door clicked behind the driver, Sanzo felt Goku's wide golden eyes turn to him.

"Naa, Sanzo…"

The priest rolled his eyes. '_Every time he starts a sentence with that phrase, I just know it's going to get me into a new pile of shit.'_ He took a deep breath. "What is it? If you ask me a stupid question, you know that I'm going to have to hurt you, right?"

Goku didn't miss a beat, despite Sanzo's death threat. "Hakkai was out with Yaone last night."

"Thank you for that brilliant deduction." Sanzo secured the sash around his waist and began looking for the gold rakusu he wore over his chest. "Any other exciting news to report?"

Even turned away, Sanzo knew that Goku was pouting from his place on the floor. "You're not listening. He was **out** with her. I'm not stupid. I know they talk a lot and now they're hangin' out." There was a nervous cough. "Does Hakkai… **like** Yaone? I mean **like** her like her?"

Sanzo was now fully dressed after placing the Maten Sutra around his shoulders; as a finishing touch, he reached for his shoureiju and tucked it into his sleeve. "Don't know and don't care. None of my business unless they decide to run off together and leave us without transportation."

Goku grabbed Sanzo's robes when he attempted to walk past. "I'm **serious, **Sanzo! If Hakkai ends up finding someone…" Now, the teen was trailing off awkwardly.

Sanzo felt around in his robes for bullets. Finding that he had an ample supply, he tugged himself free of his charge. "Why do you care so much?"

Goku continued to kneel on the floor; at this question, he dropped his hand onto his lap and looked at the carpet. Sanzo knew this expression exceedingly well: from the very beginning, Goku always got embarrassed when he had to explain his feelings, especially to Sanzo. The priest was tempted to just dismiss it as Goku trying to hide his angst.

Looking back at the door to make sure it was securely closed, Sanzo lowered himself to the floor so that he was crouched at Goku's level. "You gonna tell me or do I have to wheedle it out of you?"

"I…" Goku stopped and tried again. "If Hakkai finds someone…" He mumbled the next part to the ground. "'M gonna be all 'lone again."

"Alone?" Sanzo bit his tongue so that he didn't immediately revert to calling Goku a stupid monkey and to hurry up and get ready to go. Separation anxiety had always been one of the boy's worst problems, especially with the unnaturally deep attachment he had to the blond.

"Look," Sanzo said after a slight pause. "You're not going to be alone. The four of us are stuck together, which I thought you knew by now. Hakkai likes us, for a reason only the gods know, so he's not going anywhere."

"I guess." Goku stood up slowly, head still bowed. "At least you an' Gojyo were already here…"

Sanzo felt yet another headache coming on. '_It all comes back to the damn kappa, doesn't it?'_ However, he could understand Goku's meaning. He and Gojyo were there from the beginning, while Yaone had never been part of the Ikkou. Goku's 'family' was being threatened, which the boy didn't like at all.

"Quit feeling sorry for yourself and get your ass in gear. We're leaving **now,** got it?" This was about as close as the priest got to being comforting, but it would have to do for the time being.

As Sanzo marched out of the room, he missed Goku's grateful smile. "Yeah, I got it."

-+-

The previous night had been a sleepless one for Seiran as well. The youkai that he'd sent a half-day ago to deliver the ransom note had not returned, leading him to believe that the messenger was now residing in the afterlife. He wasn't bothered too much by that assumption – delivering the note was all he'd intended to use the other youkai for anyway.

What worried him a little more was that he hadn't heard anything from the human scientist yet. Seiran had been ordered to wait for further instructions, but had received nothing of the sort. The only thing he had to go on now was that the Sanzo-Ikkou would be at the prison in a day or two at the most. However, he reassured himself that it wouldn't be too hard to get further information out of the _hanyou._

'_Funny how a little pain can make someone change their whole attitude about giving up intelligence,' _he thought to himself, pacing around the quarters he'd taken over for the night. The youkai briefly wondered just how desperate the redhead would be to keep his Sanzo safe, or if their relationship was too shaky to be sustained. If the _hanyou _knew it would keep the priest alive, would he somehow convince the other man to hand over the Maten-kyo?

Seiran decided that he would try to rest for the time being and save his questions for another time. Unfortunately, he ended up tossing and turning fitfully for the rest of the night as he hoped for some kind of message from the scientist by dawn.

The sun's first rays brought him no message, making the worry building in his chest that much harder to squash. Seiran went about his business as normal – well, as normal as he could manage – by constructing a few bombs to replace the ones he had lent to the other youkai, as well as making sure that all of his daggers were sharpened exactly.

He had been at this task for about an hour, by which time the sun was fully up, when a sharp clicking noise at the window distracted him. Seiran looked towards the window, puzzled when he saw what looked like a mechanical flying insect resting on the sill. It clicked again and, this time, he got up to investigate the device. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it bore a striking resemblance to a beetle. A sharp cut on its back was the only indication that it wasn't a true insect.

He realized the cut indicated a small compartment, which opened up on top of the insect's back. At this, a piece of paper popped out. Seiran unfolded the note and instantly recognized the scientist's handwriting. '_Of course, this invention has to be his work as well.'_ The note was only a few sentences long and didn't tell him much other than things were 'going as planned' and to 'keep going' in his baiting of the Sanzo-Ikkou.

Seiran set the note down with a huff and watched as the insect's wings started up again with a buzz and it took off out the window. "Great," he mumbled sarcastically. "He **said** he was going to help from another angle… so nice of him to **remind** me." Seiran didn't know what the other angle was, so he supposed that he would just check and see how the half-demon was doing.

-+-

Gojyo couldn't remember any of the dreams he had that night. He only recalled waking up to the lingering smell of tobacco and fleeting glimpses of piercing violet. He heard a familiar soft, low voice beside his ear and could almost feel heat against his neck. Words flitted through his mind, like "space" and "responsibility" and Sanzo expressing a deep dislike regarding Gojyo being in the same vicinity as he was.

He fully awoke with a somewhat embarrassing snort and looked around quickly, hoping that no one had heard it. His head and back ached from sleeping up against the stone wall all night, not to mention the constant throbbing of his stab wound.

It had been fortunate for Gojyo that the youkai named Shou had come last night, but while Gojyo appreciated his kindness in binding up the wound, he really wished the man had brought some food along with him. It had now been more than twenty hours since Gojyo had last eaten and he could hear his stomach loudly protesting the situation. All he could think about was that he could really go for some sort of meat right about now, along with steaming hot rice, a cold mug of beer, and a cute waitress to bring it all to him.

He grimaced. '_I hate it when my thoughts start to echo the monkey's. Well, except for the 'cute waitress' part.'_ Gojyo could at least amuse himself with the thought that Sanzo would be very pissed at the imaginary waitress and with Gojyo, which would lead to the priest not so subtly claiming him after the meal.

The hunger gnawed at his insides again and Gojyo shifted a little bit, gritting his teeth when the manacles bit into his wrists. He struggled to find a more comfortable position, but it was easier said than done. Sitting on the stone floor meant that his legs and rear were on the verge of falling asleep and Gojyo cursed the pins-and-needles feeling that ran through his lower body.

He looked down at the bandages covering his wound. The first attempt to draw his right leg in closer to his body seemed to work – there was little to no pain and he was almost able to bend his knee at a forty-five degree angle. The left leg was a different story; as Gojyo's stab wound was on the left side of his chest, excess movement of the left leg sent shocking pains throughout his body.

The redhead gave up on that after a few minutes and once again started scanning the room for ideas. The youkai had not left anything that could be used for escape, much less unlocking his bonds. Gojyo idly tried pulling his legs apart, but couldn't break the metal with which the cuffs around his ankles were held together. '_Makes sense that they're stronger in a prison where youkai are hangin' around all the time… a lot stronger than humans. Stronger than 'filthy half-breeds,' too,' _he thought sarcastically.

Faintly, Gojyo heard footsteps coming up the hall and found himself caught between hoping it was Shou again and tensing up in case it was Seiran, the youkai who'd tortured him. '_If that bastard thinks he's gonna get anythin' else outta me, he's got another thing comin'.'_

The footsteps stopped right in front of the door, as Gojyo had expected in either case, and the keys jingled once more before the door unlocked and swung open. Much to the kappa's dismay, it was Seiran, claws sharp as ever and looking very pleased with himself. Gojyo didn't know if this was an act or not, but he was willing to give the youkai the benefit of the doubt in this case. After all, the redhead had no idea where exactly he was, or if help was on the way. The youkai was definitely ahead of him in the confidence department.

Gojyo held his breath, wound aching in a subtle reminder of his earlier encounter with the youkai. He waited for another attack, only to watch his captor smirk and close the door again. It was re-locked and the footsteps receded back down the hallway before he could process what was happening.

"What just—" he mumbled, then stopped himself in mid-sentence. '_Hell, what does it matter? He's probably planning something and just checking to make sure I haven't kicked it yet. Like last night wasn't bad enough._

'_Or he just doesn't need anything from me right now. He'll be back once he figures out somethin' else I can tell him.'_

Gojyo narrowed his eyes, suddenly doubting his assumptions. '_Unless he's actually done with me and he's just leaving me in here to rot. Maybe he was hoping I was already dead and that's why he left again. He's tryin' to see how long it'll take t' off me._

'_No, that'd be a huge waste for him,'_ he considered. '_Why would he bother with sending Shou in here if he wanted me to die? He _has _to need me for something else…_

'…_But he just wants the sutra, doesn't he?' _his brain countered yet again. '_I can't get that for him, so what use am I?'_

His head was starting to hurt and he sent another handful of curses up to any deity who would listen. He wasn't used to being so analytical – that was Hakkai's department. Even Sanzo was more apt to dissect the actions of others than he was; Gojyo preferred to be directed towards the responsible party and begin kicking copious amounts of ass.

'_I'm going insane,' _Gojyo finally decided, slumping back against the wall. '_Must be the lack of cigarettes.'_

As he turned his attention once more to the light poking through the window, he let out another groan. It had now officially been twenty-four hours since Sha Gojyo had last had sex.

"Damn it all!"

-+-

Yaone thought that she would be the first to rise, but Dokugakuji was already awake and packing up by the time she roused herself from her sleeping place. Lirin was still using one of the Hiryu for a pillow and Kougaiji was resting his head on his arm while he lay on his side. His eyes flickered under their lids and Yaone found herself wondering what kind of dream her prince was having.

"Mornin'," Doku said, standing up. He looked over his things one last time while Yaone was still rubbing the last bit of sleep from her eyes. "Good dreams?"

"No dreams," she replied, sitting up and stretching. "Those are the best nights."

Doku chuckled wryly. "Yeah, I agree with ya there."

"What time do you suppose Sanzo's group will be here?" Yaone immediately began busying herself with cleaning up and collecting her items. There wasn't very much to pack, but she felt a sudden manic need to be tidy. She halfheartedly wished that Lirin were already awake so that she would have a task to keep her occupied.

Doku shrugged. "Pretty soon, I guess. Why so worried? Got a date?" He couldn't resist winking at the woman.

Yaone clenched her blanket tightly in her hands. "I really wish you wouldn't say things like that, Dokugakuji. It's quite embarrassing to have another person insinuate certain things about a person's private life all the time." She was trying to remain polite, but ended up babbling; her memories were straying to the night before and it was making her nervous.

Doku held up a hand, placating her. "Sorry, didn't mean to offend."

"What's going on here?" Kougaiji cut in. Realizing he was awake, both of his subordinates fell silent. Violet eyes moved from Yaone to Doku, questioning, but received no answer. The prince finally let the subject drop and went to collect his own personal items.

Lirin was the last to wake up, yawning and whining about having to sleep on the ground all night. She was firmly of the opinion that "Baldy wasn't worth" all this trouble. The young princess was also disappointed that an all-out fight wasn't going to be happening anytime soon.

Kougaiji stood at the edge of the forest, waiting for the first sign of the Sanzo-Ikkou. He couldn't help pacing while he did so, trying to control the thoughts that were swirling around his head. He had barely been able to sleep the night before, forcing himself to come up with several different plans for getting Seiran under control as quickly as possible.

It didn't take much longer before the prince spotted the green Jeep heading down the street of the village. The only sound indicating that the Ikkou was approaching was the rumble of the vehicle itself. Everyone in Kou's group could tell that Goku was alone in the backseat because there was no bickering going on. Yaone and Dokugakuji approached from behind their leader on either side.

Lirin stood back, punching her fist into the air. "Yeah! Let's go kick butt!"

The Ikkou pulled up to the clearing and Goku immediately hopped out. "You guys ready?" he asked hesitantly. "You still wanna go rescue Gojyo, right?"

Kougaiji looked at Goku out of the corner of his eye. "I believe that I explained this before. As far as we're concerned, this is not a rescue mission. Once we reach the prison, we will go our separate ways and deal with our separate problems."

Goku's eyes flickered for a brief moment and then he nodded, attempting to be just as stoic as his rival. "Right. Got it." He then turned back to Sanzo and Hakkai, who were still sitting in Jeep. "We ready t' go then, guys?"

Sanzo lit a cigarette instead of responding. He continued to look down at his lap, so Hakkai chose to answer instead.

"If you would kindly lead the way, then, Kougaiji-san."

Dokugakuji started getting the dragons together. "When I took that Kishin guy home last night, I saw the location. Shouldn't take more than an hour by air or–" He nodded towards the Ikkou's vehicle. "By other means of transportation."

"Good." Sanzo tossed his cigarette to the ground, where it fizzled out. "The sooner we head out, the sooner this pain-in-the-ass side trip is over with."


	7. Six: Longing

A/N: I apologize, because this chapter is a lot shorter than the rest of them. I kind of did myself in during my notes, by not putting my locations nearly far enough away from each other. In case the 53 fans are wondering when they're going to get some more action, hopefully you can wait until the next chapter. It gets good, I swear. In the meantime, the 8Y fans continue to get more development thrown their way. :-)

Glossary: "Takku" -- exasperated interjection; "man..."

Six: Longing

_The door closed softly behind Gojyo as he followed Sanzo back into their bedroom. Breakfast had been a relatively normal ordeal and Gojyo was still high off of the incident in the shower. Feeling particularly amorous, he walked up to where Sanzo was packing his things and attempted to embrace him from the back._

_Instead, he felt the priest immediately tense in his arms. "Sanzo, somethin' wrong?"_

_Sanzo shrugged out of the hug. "Is it too much to be left alone for __**one**__ minute?"_

"_Well, damn," Gojyo said, stepping back and eyeing Sanzo. "Sorry for trying to be affectionate." He concluded that the priest must be in one of his trademark moods, but wasn't about to let him wallow._

_Before Gojyo could try and mend the situation, Sanzo snapped back angrily, "Oh, cut the crap. Wasn't this morning enough for you?"_

_Gojyo's eyes widened. Unless he'd been mistaken, it was Sanzo who had taken the sex further that time. Now, to him, it sounded like __**he**__ was the one at fault._

"_I'm trying to __**hug**__ you," he explained. "Not have sex. _Takku…_ Why can't you just tell me what's going on?" Gojyo figured that something else must have triggered Sanzo's ire – something he would need to find out about and fix fast._

"_Since when do I __**have**__ to tell you every little thing that goes through my head?"_

_Gojyo shifted back, putting a hand on his hip. He found himself growing tired of having to constantly reassure Sanzo on all of the relationship issues. "Uh… it would be nice, considering we're together and all. That's kind of what people in relationships __**do**__…"_

_Sanzo gave a dismissive snort. "And you tell __**me**__ I act like a woman. What, we're supposed to sit down and discuss our __**feelings**__ all the time? Give me a fucking break."_

"_It's not a woman thing for two people to talk," Gojyo attempted. He and Sanzo were now facing each other – the priest had his back to the bed and the redhead had his to the door. Gojyo knew that, soon, Hakkai and Goku were going to come looking for them and he had to defuse the fight as quickly as possible. "If there's a problem, we should get it out in the open right away. I don't think it's right for you to close me out like this—"_

_He was cut off from saying any more when Sanzo shot him one of his trademark glares. "What __**you**__ fail to understand is that I __**need**__ some personal space and __**you**__ are constantly hovering in it twenty-four hours a day. I can't live with you breathing down my neck every second."_

_Gojyo swallowed. His good intentions had backfired and now Sanzo looked even more pissed than before they'd started. "I'm __**not**__ with you every second…"_

"_Oh, sorry." Sanzo said sarcastically. "Every __**other**__ second. The point is, back off right now, got it?"_

-+-

Gojyo's stomach growled once again, bringing him out of his daydreams. He had moved from being paranoid to outright bored. Seiran hadn't returned in at least a few hours and the kappa was feeling more drained than ever. Despite the fact that Shou had given him water the night before, his throat was as dry as ever and it was incredibly hard to focus. Dehydration was an extremely unpleasant way to go, he thought to himself with a snort.

Somehow, the fact that he could feel his will to live floating away with each second he went without liquid paled in comparison to his craving for nicotine. Gojyo was about ready to murder someone for a cigarette.

A wry smirk crossed his lips. '_That Seiran bastard would do nicely.'_

He raised his head and leaned back against the stone wall, exhaling loudly. He had lost all feeling in his arms and legs, he was fairly sure he smelled terrible, and worst of all, he was having the most inconvenient memories coming back to him.

'_It's Sanzo's fault,' _he reasoned with himself. '_That asshole just got all uptight for no reason. After __**he**__ seduced __**me**__ that morning, he had no right to push me away. Sometimes, I don't even know why I bother.'_

It was a lie. Gojyo knew **exactly** why he bothered. There was some unnatural force that pulled him closer to the priest, something that made him flirt involuntarily, that enjoyed seeing how flustered Sanzo would get, that enjoyed a good battle of wits every once in a while. Somehow, this gravity that kept him coming back paid off and the powerful lust that brewed between them for years became something more.

Gojyo didn't want to change Sanzo – most of the time – but he was determined to show the other man just how good a loving relationship could be. All that Sanzo saw it as was "hovering." It felt like a dismal situation all over.

The redhead's brain was conveniently ignoring the huge fight that had resulted out of that morning's spat, but something still tugged at his thoughts. Gojyo glanced once more at the heavy wooden door, subconsciously willing it to open.

As if on cue, he heard footsteps approaching down the hall. Holding his breath, Gojyo waited until the footsteps stopped in front of the door. '_Please be Shou, please be Shou,'_ he found himself chanting in his head.

Kannon was finally smiling on him for once, he thought, as the door swung open and revealed the pale youkai. Shou was carrying a covered tray and Gojyo could pick up something wonderful smelling underneath it.

Trying to keep from salivating, he waited until Shou closed the door. "Hey there, pal, been a while."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Shou replied, setting down the tray and digging out his lighter. "I figured the important stuff should come first."

Gojyo smiled. "A man after my own heart."

They both lit up again and Gojyo breathed out a cloud of smoke, already feeling calm. He tried to savor it as long as he could, but his stomach rumbled loud enough for Shou to hear and he decided to take care of some other basic needs.

_'Speaking of basic needs…'_

"Oi, Shou."

"Yeah?" The other youkai had already uncovered the tray and revealed some meat and vegetables. "Did I forget something?"

"Uh…" Gojyo pulled his arms away from the wall and let the manacles clank against the stone. "There any way you can get me outta these for two seconds? I gotta piss somethin' fierce."

Shou shook his head remorsefully. "The keys to the door and to your chains are on different sets, unfortunately. I think Seiran has those babies under his control alone."

Gojyo grimaced. "Great, just fuckin' great." He shook his head. "Eatin' will make it worse, but **damn**, I'm starving."

He tried to concentrate on the taste of the food and how good it was despite the fact that he was being spoon-fed like a child. All too soon, the plate was empty and Shou was packing up.

As he stood up, Shou leaned forward to whisper in Gojyo's ear. "I'll see what I can do about those keys."

"Tell you what, buddy,"Gojyo said. "I'll buy ya a drink if you can get me outta this place."

"You're on." Still smiling, he left the cell, deliberately leaving it unlocked.

-+-

Goku's neck was starting to hurt. He couldn't stop himself from craning up to look at the Hiryu flying overhead and there were no other distractions. Sanzo and Hakkai were both riding along in silence, making the teen wonder if they still hadn't forgiven each other for their outburst the other day.

'_S'not like I like 'im or anythin','_ Goku considered. '_But havin' Gojyo here would definitely solve the boredom problem.'_

They had been traveling for roughly an hour at this point. Goku knew that, soon, they would be at the prison where Gojyo was being held. He was a bit amazed that Kougaiji's group was flying so slowly; if Hiryu could get all the way from Houtou Castle to the middle of China in half a day, the current pace must've been really boring.

Sanzo tossed another cigarette out of Jeep and Goku wrinkled his nose. Sanzo's smoking didn't bother him most of the time, but he always hated to see the priest distressed. Knowing that most of that was due to Gojyo frustrated the teen even more.

Whenever the other three members of the Ikkou got depressed, Goku wanted to cheer them up; he wanted to get to the bottom of the situation and get his friends back to normal as quickly as possible. Gojyo often told him that they had "adult problems" and that a "kid" like Goku would never understand.

'_Dammit,' _Goku thought, curling his left hand into a fist as he stared at his lap. '_I __**want**__ to understand. I don't want to be a stupid kid who doesn't 'get' it._

'_Does 'getting it' mean I gotta fall in love?'_ Goku had never been in love before – at least, he didn't remember such a thing occurring. When he tried to think of someone to be in love with, he drew a blank. He had met a few cute girls before in the towns they went through, but nothing worked out in the end and the Ikkou continued on their way.

'_But maybe, jus' maybe,'_ he pondered, '_If I fell in love with a girl, then I'd understand what everyone else is talkin' about. Then, they won't treat me like a kid!'_

"You're awfully quiet back there, Goku," Hakkai commented, breaking the shorter brunet from his thoughts.

"And this is a bad thing because?" Sanzo asked, flicking his lighter a few times. An unlit cigarette dangled from his mouth. "The one thing I actually appreciate about this crappy detour is the silence."

Goku barely paid them any attention. As soon as they reached the next town, he decided, he was going to try and find a girl to fall in love with. '_It can't be that hard. After all, Gojyo always could find girls and fall in love with them, even in one night. 'S'all there is to it.'_

With Goku still remaining silent in the backseat, Hakkai paused in his attempt at conversation and returned to the task at hand. He forced himself to concentrate on driving Jeep in the direction Kougaiji had indicated; otherwise, he started staring up at the undersides of the Hiryu. He had to watch not to swerve, lest anyone notice that something else was occupying his mind.

He had been hoping for a chance to talk with Yaone again in private; unfortunately, their respective forms of transportation didn't exactly allow for such a thing to take place. More than anything, he wanted to apologize for being too forward the night before. Hakkai kept replaying the conversation over and over in his head, wondering where it would have been best to shut up or change his words.

It also didn't help that the last night had been a sleepless one as well. In addition to being worried about Gojyo and upset at scaring off Yaone, Hakkai had once again been haunted by recurring nightmares. It didn't matter how many times he woke up, as soon as he went back to sleep, he found himself back in Hyakugan Maou's palace, surrounded by blood, dead youkai, and Kanan whispering her goodbyes.

'_I'm still a fool, after all these years,'_ he thought ruefully. '_My indecision and actions are hurting Yaone-san. It must be so frustrating to be receiving so many mixed signals. It's not fair of me to give off any kind of ideas. Maybe it's best if I didn't talk to her alone anymore. She deserves someone who can be straightforward with her.'_

The only thing he could figure out to do was to make a quick apology and slink away with at least a small piece of his dignity intact. He was debating internally on how to do such a thing when suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed the steering wheel.

Instinctively, he braked, jerking forward at the sudden motion. He looked over at Sanzo and hoped he didn't sound too alarmed. "What's the matter?"

The priest stared pointedly at him. "Unless you're planning to charge the gate like we did with Homura, you need to stop."

Hakkai could even hear Goku shifting around in the back, clamping a hand to his chest. "You were floorin' it, Hakkai! You outran Kougaiji an' them!"

"Oh." Hakkai looked up to see the dragons that were now circling for a landing. He gave a short laugh. "I suppose I did."

A "kyuu" issued from the engine. Hakkai immediately felt guilty for having undoubtedly run Jeep too far and too hard. "I'm sorry," he whispered, stroking the dashboard and hoping for no hard feelings from his pet and companion.

Kougaiji and his group dismounted the Hiryu with relative ease and the youkai prince strode up next to the Ikkou's vehicle. "From here, we part ways. Understood?"

"Clear." Sanzo slid from the seat and removed the shoureiju from the robes. "All we need to do is kill that youkai bastard and get on our way."

Kou immediately whirled on him. "You'll do no such thing. Seiran is **my** responsibility and **I** am in charge of his punishment. You don't need to get involved."

"It feels a little hollow without any sort of revenge," Hakkai admitted, climbing out of Jeep and waiting for it to resume dragon form. His eyes caught Yaone's briefly, but he focused his attention on the looming prison.

The structure stood out from its desert surroundings – there was almost no way to miss it. Made of stone with steel doors, it looked quite imposing. An outdoor walkway surrounded the top floor, but there were no lookout guards. Just looking at the prison, the healer guessed that it was about four or five stories tall.

Sanzo was still glaring at Kougaiji. "I'd rather see him with a few bullet holes in him than just getting a slap on the wrist from you."

"Trust me," the youkai prince growled in return. "His punishment will be far worse than a simple warning."

"Guys!" Goku now positioned himself between his rival and Sanzo. "We can fight more later once we get the stupid kappa!"

"The kid's got a point," Doku said, resting his sword against his shoulder. "Why don't we just see who gets to Seiran first? Whoever wins gets to deal with him the way they want."

"A surprisingly good idea," Sanzo replied, checking the gun's chamber for the tenth time. "I've been itching to shoot something for a while now."

"What about Gojyo?" Laughing, Goku sprinted towards the gates of the prison. Indignant, Lirin shouted and took off after him. Sanzo and Kougaiji exchanged one more look, each trying to calculate what the other would do, before following. Doku brought up the rear.

Hakkai waited for Hakuryu to settle comfortably on his shoulder and started to follow the group. He stopped upon hearing Yaone clear her throat and turned towards her very slightly.

"Before we go in, Hakkai-san – might I talk with you about something?"

-+-

_"The point is, back off right now, got it?"_

"_What the hell?" Gojyo mumbled, stepping back a few feet and giving Sanzo a rather puzzled look._

_It wasn't like the blond was falling for Gojyo's pitiful puppy act. He'd give the kappa a couple __**gentle**__ reminders about what exactly he was screwing up. "What was all that a long time ago about respecting me? Everything I do now has to be run by you first, while you get to go out and do whatever you desire—"_

"_Now wait a second!" Gojyo cut him off, waving a hand at him. "I went out last night because you 'didn't want to see my face.'" He made the appropriate air quotes as he repeated Sanzo's words back to him._

_Sanzo sighed. "Not talking about that, dumbass. When you left later… after __**that**__." He wondered if it was really so hard for the other man to understand – after all, it seemed like sex was constantly number one on Gojyo's list. Sanzo just hoped that the kappa would realize the kinds of double standards he'd been unwittingly following._

_He could almost see the wheels turning in the redhead's skull when Gojyo spoke next. "Wait, this is about something else, isn't it?"_

"_Brilliant deduction," Sanzo said dryly. "You force me to share everything with you, but you can't even tell me __**why**__ you went out to see Dokugakuji last night!"_

"_You… saw that?" Gojyo couldn't help gaping at him._

_Sanzo wasn't about to let the subject change, at any rate. "What did he want?" The priest wanted to get to the bottom of whatever was going on._

_Gojyo gave a haughty laugh of his own. "Oh, I see how it is. I have to tell you everything, but you're allowed to make a stink about your little privacy bubble. Sorry, babe, but it's none of your business. He just wanted to talk… nothin' important."_

"_It's my business when one of our __**enemies**__," Sanzo emphasized, "comes to the place where we're staying and 'wants to talk.'" He made his own quotes this time._

_The kappa rolled his eyes. "Enemies… gimme a break, Sanzo."_

"_Gojyo, it's all well and good that you get to have your little family reunions, but if he was here, that means something important is going on and you need to tell me. __**That's**__ the kind of thing we need to discuss." Sanzo normally didn't feel this talkative, but when it came to the mission, he always felt himself becoming oddly focused. "Ever think he could've been a distraction for you while the rest of Kougaiji's people attacked us?"_

"_They wouldn't—"_

"_How do __**you**__ know?" Sanzo interjected. His voice was rising dangerously and he knew he'd be yelling at the kappa before the dispute was through._

_Gojyo tried again. "I don't think—"_

"_Exactly."_

"_Sanzo, this is ridiculous." Gojyo made a few tentative steps towards him._

"_What is?" Sanzo hated having to explain the obvious. "Their mission is to get the sutra, just like any other youkai!"_

"_Okay, okay," Gojyo mumbled. "Sorry..."_

_Sanzo wasn't buying the forced apology. He knew it was just Gojyo's attempt to get him to drop the point. Not quite yet. "But apparently, that's not important enough. Opening up is __**much**__ more worthy of your attention. You just have to know what's going on in everyone else's lives."_

_Gojyo was back in the argument at that comment. "If you'd just say more in the __**first**__ place, I wouldn't have to keep asking! I want to know things about you, talk to you."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because I love you." Gojyo sighed, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Sanzo could tell he was growing tired of the situation and was looking for an escape._

"_**Here **__we go again." Sanzo could be just as snide if he so chose. He rolled his eyes in addition to the sarcastic remark._

"_What's __**that**__ s'posed t' mean? I'm telling you the truth."_

_Sanzo shook his head. He was finally getting to discuss the thing that had bothered him most about this whole 'relationship' mess. "'I love you' just solves all of your problems, doesn't it? It's your excuse for prying, for invading my space, whatever – a nice convenient little blanket statement."_

_Gojyo balled his hands into fists, stepping ever closer. "That is the __**dumbest**__ thing I've __**ever **__heard. Sanzo, I __**never**__ say things I don't mean. I would __**never**__ use that for any hidden motives." _

"_No, you don't lie," Sanzo agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. "But it just glosses over any imperfections, any argument to the contrary. You say 'I love you' like it's the ultimate answer to any question. You think it's the end to any argument—"_

"_Stop." Gojyo's voice sounded strained. "Just… You know what? We should just go find Hakkai and—"_

"_**No**__," Sanzo interrupted, narrowing his eyes further at the kappa. "I told you last night. I don't want someone else solving all my problems for me. That's __**your**__ way of fighting. When your little magic phrase doesn't work, you run off and get Hakkai."_

-+-

Momentarily breaking out of his thoughts, the priest noticed that there was no resistance at the entrance to the prison, further proving to him that this Seiran youkai was working alone. That fact would make this whole ordeal a lot easier.

Goku and Lirin had burst through the doors in their usual way, while Kougaiji and Sanzo followed in an uncomfortable silence. The priest had already had enough of the prince for the time being and had the distinct feeling Kougaiji felt the same way regarding him.

Sanzo could hear Gojyo's brother clomping behind them at an irritatingly steady pace reminiscent of the younger Sha – just another thing he was planning on whacking the kappa for once he finally found him. '_Walking too goddamn loudly.'_

There was a distinct lack of Hakkai and his dragon, which was another factor that had caused Sanzo to push aside more thoughts about the fight he'd had with Gojyo going on two days now. He was surprised the healer had been as quiet as he was, but on second thought wasn't surprised at all. Sanzo would just as soon have nothing to do with the human-turned-youkai, but it worried him just as much when he was receiving the silent treatment.

'_The calculating ones are always worse the more they clam up.'_

In reality, Hakkai was still near the entrance and had been waiting for Yaone to continue. He figured that she was going to say something along the same lines that he had been planning to, that they were getting too confused over exactly how they viewed each other, and that the mistaken view would soon be corrected.

"Forgive me for distracting you right before you rescue your friend," she started gently; halfway through her sentence he was already opening his mouth to say that it was no trouble at all. "I wanted to—"

"—Apologize for last night," Hakkai finished, nodding his head. "I as well."

"For what?" Yaone looked confused. "After all, I am the one who keeps leading you on despite the fact that we are supposed to be enemies."

"I can't be helping either," Hakkai admitted. "I'm not to quick to remind you of that fact, am I?"

"It does not matter; it is my fault for disclosing forbidden information, as well as imposing myself upon your company."

"You're not imposing at all." In the back of his mind, he was well aware they'd been left behind. The voices of their other companions had disappeared completely. "In fact, I appreciate the time you've been spending with me, instead of trying to murder me each time we meet."

"I find you too worthy of an opponent to just kill in one scuffle." Yaone hid her smile behind her hand but Hakkai saw it anyway. "I fear that there has been a misunderstanding."

"That seems to be the case, doesn't it?"

"I was afraid that I might be holding you back, in case you were expecting something…"

Hakkai had to admit to himself that she was cute, blushing and trying to explain herself. At the same time, he had expected all along that she was trying to apologize for the same thing he was. "I was about to offer my apologies as well, were it the case that I was being overly friendly or…" He tried to smooth it over with a smile. "Flirting, as my friend might call it."

She paused, biting her lip slightly. "Speaking of which… This is definitely not the time to talk about it."

"It?" Hakkai stepped backwards towards the prison, hoping that he could still catch up. He wanted a piece of Seiran quite badly at the moment, especially if Gojyo was injured or traumatized in any fashion.

"It," Yaone emphasized, walking up to and past him on his right, "can wait."

Hakkai felt pressure on his right hand and it took a few seconds to process that Yaone had squeezed it. A conflicting mess of feelings swelled from this action, but he forced himself to shove it aside and followed her into the prison.

As she said, such things could wait.

-+-

"Nyaah! Gonna beat ya, ya stupid monkey!"

"Don't call me a monkey!"

"Aww… you sayin' yer stupid then?"

Goku was going to kill her. He didn't care that Lirin was a girl and that he wasn't supposed to hit her. He got enough of that 'stupid monkey' stuff from Gojyo! He wasn't about to let someone else start in on him. Lirin definitely wasn't going to beat him to whichever room the kappa was being held in, either. He was about to start running through the prison at random, but something was holding him back by the shirt collar.

"Calm your ass down," Sanzo muttered, letting out a sigh as Goku continued to run in place rather uselessly. "Don't make me hit you."

They had all assembled in the entrance hall of the prison, which looked very dusty and abandoned. It was a bit difficult for any of them to believe that the building was still operational. Kougaiji and Dokugakuji were already positioned towards the hallway leading off to the right, seemingly disregarding Lirin's teasing of Goku.

Yaone and Hakkai arrived through the entryway last, earning a few raised eyebrows but no questions. Everyone in the room knew that there was a more important task at hand, though the level of importance varied. Sanzo found himself closest to a hallway that diverged to the right.

Goku finally freed himself and stuck his tongue out at the princess. She responded in kind.

"We'll take this way," Kougaiji announced, pointing towards the left hall in a sweeping gesture. "I'd prefer to look over the floor plans of this prison before starting a search, but we unfortunately lack that option."

Doku smirked. "But you guys are used t' runnin' around aimlessly, right?"

Goku clenched his fists, but didn't move more than a few steps in the Kou-tachi's direction. "We'll find Gojyo an' that youkai way faster 'n you--!"

"Don't bait him," Sanzo said to Doku with a sigh. "It just makes him more excitable."

Kougaiji turned, fully intending to make his way down the left hallway when the group heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching. Doku, Yaone, and Goku all summoned their weapons, ready to attack at a moment's notice. Sanzo's grip tightened around the shoureiju and he could tell both Hakkai and Kougaiji were channeling their power in preparation as well.

The footsteps drew closer and, finally, a figure emerged from the darkened hallway. It was a youkai carrying an empty food tray. He blinked at the group standing there and scanned them over for a moment.

"Seiran?" Goku asked, making the youkai turn in his direction.

"Don't insult me." It was then that they noticed the youkai had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "I've had enough of that guy to tide me over for a **long** time."

"Is he here?" Kougaiji demanded. Sanzo also stepped forward, contemplating the best way to beat the prince to wherever the youkai spy was hiding.

The cigarette bobbed up and down as the pale youkai chuckled. "Why should I—" Then, he paused, taking a long look at the group standing in front of him. "Ah! Kougaiji-sama, please forgive my rudeness." He pointed down the long hallway from where he'd just come. "He's down in his room, that way."

"Is there another man here also?" Hakkai asked. "He has long red hair, also a smoker."

The youkai smirked again. "And you must be Gojyo's buddies, come to get him. Go down that same way, but there's a hallway to the right. Down the hall, up the stairs, there he is. Been wonderin' 'bout you guys, too."

"Right." Sanzo immediately pushed past the youkai, down the hallway, not bothering to fight back a sudden intense need to find Gojyo and beat him senseless with the harisen. He could faintly hear the others following after him, but at this point, he ceased to care.

Hakkai thanked the youkai, despite being rather confused. "It's not that we don't appreciate it, but why exactly are you helping us out?"

Shou put his cigarette out with his heel as he watched the rest of the group recede down the hallway. "Gojyo said he'd buy me a drink if I helped him out. Jus' tell him I'll be waitin' for him at the nearest bar." With a wave of his hand, he turned and continued walking towards the exit. He planned to leave Seiran and the castle far, far behind.


	8. Seven: Opposite

A/N: Sorry for yet another delay, but the beta and I finally got together and fine-tuned this chapter this week. We're almost done. Next chapter, everything will be wrapped up, but it's most definitely not the end for any of these guys. Thanks to everyone for their nice reviews... even the anonymous person! I wish that you had signed your name to that wonderful review, because I really wanted to reply. In any case, thanks for all the support.

Seven: Opposite

Kougaiji tore down the hallway with little regard as to whether or not anyone was following him. He now had a single determined goal in mind – Seiran's apprehension – and focused on it intently as he stalked towards the place where the other youkai had told him to go.

Lirin bounded along eagerly behind, but Dokugakuji and Yaone looked a little more hesitant. They knew that they were supposed to be splitting up from the Sanzo-Ikkou, but the priest was long gone and the remaining two members hadn't moved from their spot nearby.

"Isn't one of you gonna go after the guy, too?" Doku asked, once again making sure his sword was ready. "It's not gonna be much competition if Kou gets there first."

"Gah!" Goku immediately sprinted off after the prince, determined not to lose. He steadily increased his speed until he overtook Kougaiji. He ran all the way up to a door at the end of the hallway and slammed his palm against it. Looking back at Kougaiji, he gloated, "Ha! Beat ya! I win!"

From the way the auburn-haired youkai stared blankly at him, Goku then realized that the object had not been a race, but to take out Seiran. He grinned sheepishly and then dove for the doorknob.

"Move." Kougaiji knew that his words meant nothing to the boy, but his tone was stern nonetheless. When his warning was ignored, he instantly conjured a small fireball and sent it directly at the wooden door.

"Ah!" Goku leapt to the side as the door burst into flames, crouching to regain his stability with one hand on the ground.

The prince kicked the door in the rest of the way and started to walk through.

As a last ditch effort, Goku dove towards Kougaiji's legs, taking him down in one of the most ungraceful manners possible.

Doku had just been starting down the hall himself when he saw the scuffle. He darted down the rest of the way just in time to see Lirin whacking Goku on the head with her fists, yelling quite loudly about how no one was going to "hurt Oniichan!"

Yaone could only sputter nervously as she debated between staying out of the way and rushing to her prince's aid. It was at that moment that she realized that she and Hakkai had been left alone once again.

"It appears as though the universe is conspiring to continually leave us by ourselves."

After a slight pause, Yaone decided to run down the hallway, calling out her prince's name in worry.

Kougaiji hated being embarrassed more than anything in the world, next to being manipulated and being dishonored. Public humiliation fell somewhere in the "dishonor" category and he had every intention of making Goku pay for his foolish mistake.

The prince struggled to his feet once again, noticing that Lirin was landing a flurry of punches on the teen, who had taken to shielding his head with his upper arms. Dokugakuji arrived at last and helped haul Kougaiji up the rest of the way, even though it was obvious the prince didn't need the assistance. Yaone reached them seconds later, followed by Hakkai.

Kougaiji had a faint thought regarding Yaone and the driver cross his mind, but it was pushed away when Goku finally managed to get Lirin off of him. The prince flexed his claws and started to advance towards his rival.

"Kougaiji-sama, look!" Yaone called out, distracting him from his plans for revenge.

Beyond the smoldering remains of the wooden door, everyone could see that the room was unoccupied. There was an open window and the place looked to be cleared out.

To Hakkai, it was obvious that Seiran had escaped during all of the arguing and fighting right outside his door. The spy would have had to be deaf not to know what was going on.

"Dammit, did he run?" Dokugakuji rested his sword on his shoulder and did another scan of the room.

Goku was ignoring the fact that Kougaiji was still seething next to him. "That coward! We gotta go get 'im!"

"Kyuu!"

Everyone looked up to see Hakuryu circling above their heads, chirping and trying to get them to follow. He must have been able to track Seiran's scent, Hakkai decided, so he quickly took off after his pet.

Seiran hadn't gone far, the group discovered; he was out in the main hall of the prison, frantically trying to collect the various poisons and bombs he'd fled with. The spy blanched when he saw the approaching group and fumbled, dropping a vial on the ground. It broke open and a purple liquid started to eat away at the floor.

"Goku!" Hakkai warned, even as the teen made steps towards the enemy youkai. "It's acidic! Please be careful!"

"Seiran!" Kougaiji barked from across the room. The spy started at his name. "You deliberately went against my orders. What is the meaning of this?"

Seiran took a few more steps back. "I apologize, My Lord… I'm only doing as you requested."

"Using a method that **I** oppose." Kougaiji was readying another fireball in his hand in case Seiran moved to escape. "It's not my intention to hurt you, but I will not hesitate to act if it ensures that you will return to the palace with us."

Seiran opened his mouth to speak, but at that very moment, he became distracted by something flying overhead.

Glancing upward ever so slightly, Goku could see that it was a beetle of some sort.

Seiran smiled for the first time since he'd been confronted and disappeared, this time by throwing down a smoke bomb in front of the group. They were momentarily blinded and by the time the smoke cleared, he had vanished.

Hakkai noticed Yaone looking even more distressed and found himself asking her what was wrong. From the faint blush and scowl on her face, he could tell that she was fighting back anger.

She clenched her spear tighter between her hands. "Seiran has…" She paused, shaking her head. "Those are **my** bombs. That potion he spilled was still in development!"

Hakkai closed his eyes, smiling genuinely this time. "Well, then, we can add to his list of crimes that of copyright infringement and intellectual property theft."

-+-

To say the least, it had been a rather eventful morning for Seiran. The spy had only just digested what little information the scientist had given him, checked in on his prisoner, and spent a little more time worrying, when some movement outside the window caught his eye. It was far off in the distance and, upon closer inspection, he made it out to be the Sanzo-Ikkou's vehicle.

It figured that they wouldn't waste any time going to find their missing member; how they knew which building in which the _hanyou_ was being held, Seiran had yet to figure out. It occurred to him only after watching the vehicle for another minute or so that it didn't matter **how** they had discovered his hideout, only that they were fast approaching and he needed to prepare.

He gathered up everything in the room that he could carry, which mostly included weapons, bombs, and potions. He hoped that it would be enough to at least fend them off for several minutes, allowing him ample time to escape.

Or so he had planned.

Seiran had never lost his calm this quickly before. Not only had the Sanzo-Ikkou shown up, which he could've handled under normal circumstances, now they had teamed up with the prince and his group. As much as Seiran personally disagreed with Kougaiji-sama's lack of action when it came to sutra collecting, he still respected the prince as his leader. It would be nothing short of treason to fight against him.

He had regained a spark of hope, however, when he saw one of Ni's mechanical insects flying above the group. Perhaps this was the information he had been seeking after all this time!

As he darted off in a flash of smoke, he could hear indignant cries, but assumed that no one had been injured. If Seiran became the one responsible for causing Prince Kougaiji any harm, he would be even more severely punished, not to mention feeling horribly guilty about the entire thing.

The tiny gold bug fluttered before him again and he snatched it out of mid-air, never slowing his pace while he raced to another end of the prison. The building had once housed hundreds of inmates, so there were plenty of rooms and levels to hide out in.

Seiran ripped the wings off of the beetle to get to the note inside. The writing on it blurred, though he couldn't tell if it was the note itself or just his vision that was to blame.

'_Things are holding up on my end. Excellent work. Wait a little longer for assistance.'_

'_Assistance?' _Seiran thought. _'Does that mean he's sending help? If I can just hold them off… or better yet, escape without their knowledge, there's a possibility of reinforcements!'_

He skidded around a corner and down a flight of stairs. He hoped that the prison's labyrinth of a basement would prove too cumbersome for the ones pursuing him.

-+-

"_When your magical little phrase doesn't work, you run off and get Hakkai!"_

"_No, I don't!" Gojyo cried, but Sanzo didn't allow him to get any further._

"_Do you even __**listen**__ to yourself?" the priest asked mockingly, raising and lowering his voice to mock Gojyo's inflections. "'__**Let's**__ get __**Hakkai**__,' '__**Hakkai**__ can __**fix**__ this,' or '__**Hakkai**__ will __**tell**__ us __**what**__ to __**do**__.' He has to sign off on every important decision in your life."_

_Gojyo wanted to hit something. Sanzo was pushing every button of his at the moment, but he was trying hard to reason with the blond and not snap. "He's my __**friend, **__Sanzo," he said through gritted teeth. "That's what friends __**do**__."_

"_You __**always**__ tell him every tiny detail of your life and when things aren't working out, you get him to make it all better. You can't even accept responsibility for your own actions. I __**can**__ and you hate that."_

_One thing that irked Gojyo beyond belief was hypocrisy – Sanzo was a constant offender in that regard. He had to laugh, but he wasn't amused. "__**You?**__ Accept responsibility? That's a good one from the guy who blames other people for his own insecurities!"_

_Sanzo huffed and Gojyo could only recall a few times in his life when he'd seen those violet eyes so enraged and… hurt? No, that didn't seem right. "Well, if I'm insecure and 'closed-off,' then maybe you want to find someone who likes to talk about how everything makes him __**feel**__. Hakkai would probably __**love**__ talking about that shit; you go to him for everything else, sex can't be __**that**__ much of a leap."_

"_Are you __**shitting**__ me? You can't __**seriously**__ be suggesting that I'd __**ever**__ be with him like that." Sanzo opened his mouth to speak once more, but Gojyo stopped him. "No, you're not just after me anymore. You dragged someone else into this – I can't just let that slide._

"_Hakkai is like family to me. I could never think of him that way; it hasn't crossed my mind __**once**__ since I __**met**__ the guy. I want to be with __**you**__."_

"_Couldn't tell from the __**glowing**__ way you always talk about him. He's obviously __**perfect**__ in every single way—"_

_That was the point where Gojyo had begun screaming and things got really out of control._

-+-

Slowly returning to reality, Gojyo could hear a ton of commotion going on somewhere beneath him. Shaking, yelling, and explosions were only a few of the things he could pick out. Either there was a prison-break or the cavalry had arrived.

He couldn't quite fully suppress a shiver. _'If they really are comin' after my sorry ass…' _he thought. '_I don't know if I should be glad to see Sanzo or terrified.'_

The redhead noticed that the sounds were quieter now, after a few more loud interjections. He could also faintly pick up the sounds of footsteps echoing in the hallway. They sounded like they were heading straight for his cell.

'_Maybe Shou'll tell me what's goin' on,' _Gojyo thought, sitting up straight and moving around as much as he possibly could. It didn't seem like the pale youkai would get involved in the action, so it made sense that he might have come up to check on Gojyo.

The door opened slowly and Gojyo couldn't stop himself from calling out, "Shou, what's goin' on down there?"

He swore that his heart skipped a few beats when he caught the flash of white robes and suddenly saw Sanzo leaning against the doorframe. "Who's Shou? Your boyfriend?"

"Ah…" Gojyo's mouth became dry once again. "Hey, there… sweetheart."

Sanzo removed his cigarettes from his robes and proceeded to light up, deliberately taking his time. "Or maybe Shou's the guy you're promised to buy a beer for?"

"How do you—" Gojyo decided that asking was only going to get him in deeper, so he wisely closed his mouth and tried again. "Where're the others?"

Sanzo shrugged. "Off somewhere with Kougaiji's group, pissing around for all I know." He exhaled and looked at the chains keeping Gojyo tied up. "That's quite a setup you've got there."

Gojyo tugged a bit at the manacles, trying not to twitch. "Yeah, designed it myself. Now, can you get me outta here, maybe?"

Sanzo pushed up from the door, walking over to where Gojyo was and inspecting the chains more closely. After a few seconds, he crouched down so that he was at Gojyo's level. "I don't know. I'm tempted to leave you like this, after all the trouble you've caused me."

"What **I**—!"

Gojyo stopped as Sanzo's weight settled on his legs. The kappa's heart was beating wildly and his breath hitched as he felt Sanzo's arms running up his sides. His wound ached a little at the pressure that was being upon it, but he tried his best to push it aside.

All bets were off, however, when he distinctly noticed Sanzo's ass pressing into his lap. Two spikes shot through his nerves and one of them was not good.

"Mmm…" Gojyo moaned, frustrated, before sighing. "To be honest, love… We can try the bondage kink thing once we get to the next hotel, but I really, and I mean **really,** gotta go."

Sanzo backed off with a snort. "That's attractive," he muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey!" Gojyo said defensively. "You give me **three** seconds and I promise I will be **right** back to sex you up."

There was a pause as the blond considered it; then, he pushed himself to his feet and withdrew the shoureiju. "Don't flinch."

Gojyo knew that he should have been extremely used to having a gun pointed directly in his face. That didn't change the little twinge of fear upon seeing it once again. He closed his eyes when Sanzo fired off two shots and his arms fell down from their shackles.

Not really minding the fact that the appendages felt like rubber after hanging for so long, Gojyo tried to lean forward to undo the chains around his legs. Before he even got that far, Sanzo shot another bullet at the lock, destroying it and completely freeing him.

"Goddammit," Gojyo swore, slowly attempting to get to his feet. "Tell me when you're gonna do that shit!"

"Apparently, 'don't flinch' is too complicated for you to understand." Sanzo sounded as condescending as ever, but he still extended a hand to help pull Gojyo up the rest of the way. The priest then exited the room to give the kappa a few seconds of privacy.

Much more refreshed and getting the feeling back in his limbs, Gojyo joined Sanzo in the hallway, purposefully trapping the priest between his body and the wall. "Now, where were we?"

"I was about to kill your ass for getting captured like this and making me go to all this work for **you**." Sanzo didn't bat an eye at the fact that Gojyo was pressed up against him. "Honestly, do you really suck that much?"

"Now hold on a damn minute," Gojyo said, putting up a hand to stop Sanzo from berating him any more. "I think there's some things we need to discuss before we do anythin' else."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

He leaned in as close as he could and whispered it against Sanzo's lips. "I need you to believe what I say; I need you to trust me."

Gojyo could hear Sanzo's heartbeat speed up. "I… trust you."

"Really now? Because the last time you and I spoke, I distinctly got the feeling that you didn't – you **still** don't from the way you're gettin' all tense."

Sanzo looked away. "There are more important things going on right now."

"Don't think so." Gojyo's hands cupped Sanzo's face, forcing him to look the redhead straight in the eye. "We both said things we regret, so I think we need to get it cleared up."

"I don't regret—"

"Why are you jealous of Hakkai?"

That stopped Sanzo from trying to move.

Gojyo noticed that same hurt was back in Sanzo's eyes and knew the priest wanted to shut him out. "You tell me that you don't want my affection," he continued, "when I know for a fact you enjoy it. You keep trying to act like you don't want anything to do with me, but you get jealous when I go to someone else, even just to talk. What do you **really** want, Sanzo?"

Sanzo jerked, trying to slide out from between Gojyo and the wall, but it was only a weak attempt, mostly to see if Gojyo would let him go.

Instead, Gojyo kept Sanzo pinned in place and asked another question. "Are you afraid I don't trust you?"

From the slight widening of eyes he received, Gojyo took that as a 'yes'. _'He only acts insecure when I talk about another person close t' me – he actually gets __**angry**__ with me when I force him t' tell me stuff, but I never say anything back… 'S gotta be it.'_

"You always choose him," Sanzo mumbled, finally looking down towards Gojyo's chest. "You didn't tell me that your brother was in town that night; I had to see it. But you probably told Hakkai, right?"

Gojyo snorted. "He found out on his own, too. Maybe you forgot, but nothing gets past that guy. But that's beside the point." His expression softened and he reached up a hand to delicately stroke blond hair. "You want me to open up, too, right? It's only fair, after all, since I asked the same of you."

"You make it sound like I'm completely heartless," Sanzo said, lips turning up in a self-deprecating smile. "It's your fault I've become this way; it's your fault I've turned into a mushy—"

"It's normal," Gojyo said, grinning himself. "Well, sort of. In little amounts. If that's how you feel though, just say it. Don't get all pissed. It's not like I can read your mind, you know." He backed off, feeling just a little lighter. "I'm an open book. Just tell me what you want to know."

"Maybe later." Sanzo still looked hesitant, like there was something else he wanted to say, but was unsure of how to voice.

Gojyo rested a hand on Sanzo's hip. "Go ahead, say it."

Sanzo squeezed his eyes shut, took a breath and then looked away. He whispered, "I… want to be the one."

"Sorry, gotta be less cryptic than that, Sanzo-sama."

The blond gritted his teeth; Gojyo was supposed to understand. "The **one**-" Sanzo cut himself off to lean forward and speak in Gojyo's ear. Barely audibly, he said, "The one… you trust."

Gojyo wanted to say that he did, but the words wouldn't come out. It wasn't exactly easy to go to Sanzo when something was wrong. "Sorry, I know it's gotta be rough – I'm just always thinkin' that you're gonna whack me one with the harisen or tell me I'm stupid."

He heard a 'ch' in response and could feel a soft smile against his neck. "You're not stupid… all of the time."

"Well, gee, thanks." Gojyo couldn't help smiling back. "Now, as much as I'd love to ravish you right in this hallway, I think we need to have a talk with that Seiran guy and **thank** him for putting us through all this."

"For once, I agree."

-+-

After the smoke finally cleared, Kougaiji gave a snarl. "Traitor…"

"Kougaiji-sama," Yaone said, rushing to his side. "Are you injured at all?"

"I'm **fine**," he replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Seiran, however…"

"It's looking like a more severe punishment is in order," Doku put in.

"What are we waitin' for?" Goku batted away the last remains of the smoke with his hand and looked at Hakkai impatiently. "C'mon, let's go get 'im!"

Hakkai gave one last look back to the Kou-tachi and then turned back to Goku with a nod. "Right. Where should we start looking?"

"He ran off that way!" Goku immediately darted off back through the main entrance to the right hallway. Hakkai had no choice but to follow. With a rallying "kyuu" of his own, Hakuryu took off over the heads of his group.

Yaone took another look over her prince, but he seemed as fine as he claimed. "Where should we look for him, my Lord?" she asked.

"Seiran is a highly trained spy," Kougaiji admitted. "Even when he's been taken by surprise, he's not going to forget the basics. I'd say he's still within the prison walls, most likely hiding out somewhere until things settle down."

"Where's that?" Lirin piped up, edging closer to her older brother. She looked impatient, most likely upset that Goku had gotten a head start on the search.

Kou's eyes narrowed. "We search the cells themselves. Yaone, Lirin – I want you to check the cells upstairs, at least the next floor. Dokugaku and I will take the lowest level. If you don't find anything, head upstairs and search the upper floors; we'll meet there. Understood?"

Elsewhere, Goku was on a mission to search the entire main level before heading anywhere else. He hadn't been able to get a definite scent on the Seiran guy, mostly due to the smoke bomb messing with his senses. He'd taken off rather blindly, but was now searching for clues.

"Kyuu!" Hakuryu had spotted something shiny crumpled on the ground near the top of a staircase. He picked it up in his mouth and settled on Hakkai's shoulders, dropping the object into his master's hand.

"What's this?"

"Ah! It's that bug thing that Seiran saw!" Goku recognized the mechanical insect, but it looked to be in much worse condition now. It was almost flattened.

Hakkai inspected it closer, noticing that a compartment on its back opened up with a slight push. "This must have been a way for Seiran to communicate with someone else… perhaps there **is** an accomplice after all."

Goku looked down the staircase. "It was on the top step here." He pointed towards the steps. "You think he went down t' the basement?"

"It's worth a shot," Hakkai said, walking past Goku down the stairs. Hakuryu cheeped encouragingly and Goku immediately followed.

-+-

The plan to go get Seiran was becoming increasingly further from Sanzo and Gojyo's minds. First, the kappa had decided to 'accidentally' lose his balance 'due to the injury' and slump over on Sanzo's shoulder, leading to a few kisses. Then, Sanzo complained that supporting Gojyo on one arm was too tiring and they'd have to stop for a minute… and kiss a little more.

Soon, they abandoned the pretense of getting downstairs altogether and were content to duck into the nearest empty cell.

"Stupid… perverted… kappa," Sanzo managed to gasp between pecks. Gojyo once again had him up against the wall, the one furthest from the door this time, even though Sanzo was sitting with the redhead kneeling between his bent, spread legs. Gojyo braced himself with hands on either side of Sanzo's head and kept leaning in to steal more kisses.

"Not my fault," Gojyo said, satisfied half-smile settled on his face. "We have a lot of catching up to do." The kappa leaned forward again.

"Mmm…" It was hard to think when Gojyo kissed him that powerfully. Sanzo instinctively combed his hands through Gojyo's hair, moaning appreciatively. They still had things to work out, but for the moment, it didn't matter.

The kappa's lips trailed down Sanzo's jaw line to nip at his ear, tongue darting out to lick the earlobe as well.

The two were already shrugging out of their clothes, despite the fact that Sanzo really didn't want to become so vulnerable in a prison, of all places. However, he couldn't deny that he'd missed Gojyo's affections, no matter how hard he tried. Gojyo was now kissing the side of his neck, strong hands pushing Sanzo's legs further apart. Even through the fabric of the jeans, Sanzo could feel the burning heat between their bodies.

"We… we have to-" he tried again, cutting himself off with a gasp this time. There was no getting around it; there Sanzo was, hands cupping the back of Gojyo's head, with the redhead's hands wandering inside his robes. He was fighting desperately against the wave of arousal that was threatening to overtake him. He squeezed his eyes shut when Gojyo undid the clasp on the blond's jeans, and moaned into yet another kiss.

'_I must have gone crazy,' _Sanzo told himself. '_There's no way I could miss this that much in just two days.'_

"I'm still… mad at you, you know," Gojyo continued, moving his hand into Sanzo's pants and stroking softly. "You're still a repressed bastard." He betrayed the retort with a deep kiss before latching onto Sanzo's neck again.

"You still have… no respect for other people," Sanzo shot back, though it was hard to think up a witty response this far along. "Apparently, what I think means noth-ING!" His back arched on a stroke that felt particularly good and Sanzo struggled to keep himself from thrusting his hips upwards toward Gojyo's skilled hand.

"You're wrong," Gojyo said, staring him straight in the eye and wrapping his fingers delicately around Sanzo's erection. "You mean a lot to me. In every way. I want to trust you, too."

Sanzo just panted, unable to form words at the moment.

Gojyo took a last look into lustful, half-closed violet eyes and made his decision: he would be the one to give in. "I'm sorry." He leaned down, planting kiss after kiss on the blond's lips. He kept up the pace, stroking lovingly until Sanzo couldn't stand it any more.

The priest closed his eyes before his vision went white. He shuddered and slumped against the wall, still feeling Gojyo's warmth. He appreciated the heat compared to the cold wall, even though it was such an inappropriate time and place for what they had been doing.

Gojyo whispered against his lips once again. "Should we continue?" Instead of a sarcastic answer like he'd been expecting, Sanzo pushed up to kiss him. Just as Gojyo was about to start touching elsewhere, he sensed a presence coming towards them.

"Oi, kappa!" A high-pitched female voice echoed in the cell and Sanzo jerked in surprise. "What are you doin' t' Baldy?!"

Both redhead and blond looked toward the door where Lirin stood, hands on hips and looking indignant. "The monkey was right – you **are** a perv!"

Gojyo twitched; at least his back was to the door, so the girl couldn't see **exactly** what had just happened. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Looking back, he saw that Sanzo was rapidly pulling his robes back on and making sure everything was in place. He was also quite red.

Yaone appeared in the doorway next, panting. "Lirin-sama! Please do not run off when… I…" She trailed off and stared at the two men on the floor of the cell.

Before Gojyo could say anything, Yaone had turned redder than Sanzo and immediately ran from the room, grabbing Lirin by the hand and dragging her along. "I'm terribly sorry! I didn't see anything! Forgive my intrusion!"

Sanzo pushed Gojyo away, making the kappa bite back a cry of pain. During that whole interlude, he'd completely forgotten about being injured. Sanzo scrambled to his feet, obsessively adjusting his robes and still blushing uncontrollably.

Gojyo rubbed his abdomen gently, disappointed that the wound hadn't healed as fast as he was expecting it to. He looked up just in time to see the familiar white paper fan being brought down on his head.

THWACK!

"What. The. **Hell!**" Gojyo whined. Sanzo tucked the fan back into his robes and turned away from the redhead.

"You have no sense of decency."

"Says the guy who just enjoyed a complimentary handjob while the door was open."

Sanzo pulled the harisen out again.

"OI!"


	9. Eight: Vision

A/N: Thank you to everyone for their reviews and support during the course of this story. I hope that I continue to improve in my future works and that you continue to enjoy my silly little stories. Special thanks to **Shin-no-nekochan** for sticking around to beta my entire first Saiyuki multi-chapter story, in particular this chapter.

A/N2: Thank you, **Oozaru Angel. **I have fixed the mistakes that you pointed out.

Eight: Vision

Kougaiji marched down the stairs towards the basement with Dokugakuji in tow.

The swordsman noted the determination radiating off of his prince and was silently thankful that he was not in the line of fire. Seiran could possibly survive this day, but it might not be in one piece.

The basement was a veritable labyrinth of paths, several hallways leading off into darkness below the already vast prison. Just from a quick glance, Doku counted six separate paths that lay ahead of them. It would take forever to check every single one and there was still a chance that Seiran could sneak out while they searched in vain.

Kougaiji stopped before the paths and closed his eyes.

Dokugakuji watched him, wondering if his prince could sense the traitorous subordinate by chi alone. He felt a slow heat spread across his face when he noticed just how resolute Kou's expression was. '_It's times like these – when he's lookin' so serious – that he looks the most handsome—'_

'_Not __**again**__,'_ Dokugakuji thought with some aggravation. '_I shouldn't ever be thinking like this. There is no possible way he would ever return…'_

'_But there's a chance. Maybe… maybe after we get through with all of this crap, I can try and make an effort. Maybe… see what __**he**__ thinks about this mess?' _Doku promised himself that just as Kougaiji took off. He sprinted after the auburn tails trailing into the darkness.

Kougaiji darted down the second passage from the left. He made an abrupt left and Doku followed, heart pounding from more than just the physical exertion._ 'I can't always think the worst. Maybe there is hope.'_

"Dokugaku!" Kougaiji halted at once and the swordsman skidded to a stop behind him. Kougaiji held up a hand to make sure Doku stayed quiet and closed his eyes to listen.

Doku strained his hearing to catch whatever had made Kou stop. Footsteps, almost too soft to be detected, sounded from just ahead of them.

"Seiran," Kougaiji muttered. He walked forward down the new hallway until they came to a T-intersection.

"Should we each take a path?" Doku spoke for the first time since they'd gone down to the basement, but his throat felt exceptionally dry.

"No." Kougaiji paused yet again and this time both youkai saw a figure darting off to their right. "After him!"

In the meantime, Goku, Hakkai, and Hakuryu were trying to make their way around the maze of passageways that made up the lowest level of the prison. Goku was trying to track Seiran and there had been several times when they thought they had caught him, only to be thrown off yet again.

After going down what seemed to be the hundredth corridor, Hakkai stopped for a second to catch his breath. He was still worried about Gojyo and wondered if Sanzo had managed to find their wayward member. He had unintentionally forgotten about the fight his two teammates had had, but if Sanzo was still angry with Gojyo upon finding him again, Hakkai worried that there wouldn't be anything left of Gojyo to **bring** back with them. '_After all, that would be such a waste.'_

"Hakkai!" Goku called out in a low voice, which worried Hakkai to a small degree. Goku looked just like he was on the hunt and the healer didn't like the gleam in the teen's eyes. "C'mon, he's over here."

"Are you sure about that?" Hakkai started out once again, following Goku as he made a right down yet another hallway. '_Goku's senses really are something else if he can detect such a thing. I haven't been able to pick up a single trace down here. There are too many other auras around here – or remnants of them – to pin down Seiran's.'_

Seiran was having trouble maneuvering his way around the basement as well. He could detect two strong auras pursuing him from opposite ends and, if he judged the corridors correctly, there was a huge possibility that he could end up trapped between both of them. At this point, Seiran didn't really want either to find him, but at least he figured he could try bargaining with his prince.

He made tentative steps toward the source of one of the auras, hoping that he had made the correct choice. He rounded a corner and cursed when he saw Kougaiji and Dokugakuji appearing on the other side. '_Certainly the better of the two options, but I can't say I'm thrilled.'_

"Seiran!" Kougaiji cried, clenching his fists and moving closer. "Surrender this instant and you will be unharmed."

"My Lord, please understand," Seiran tried, forcing the words out over a lump that was forming in his throat. "I only did what I believed was best for you and the Mission!"

"If you truly thought it was best," Kougaiji said, barely holding back a snarl, "then you would have tried harder to convince me that this course of action was preferable. I told you that I would handle the Sanzo-Ikkou on my own and you failed to listen."

"I—"

"Do you know **why** I forbade you from carrying through with your plan? Kidnapping does nothing to further **my** plans," Kougaiji said. "From my experience with the Ikkou, I know that holding one of their members hostage will not make Genjyo Sanzo do **anything**, least of which is giving up his sutra. I want to best them in battle and earn the Maten-kyo fairly, but **you** don't seem to understand that."

Behind the enraged prince, Dokugakuji was glancing between the two youkai. He was ready to immobilize the spy as soon as Kougaiji gave the signal, and readied his sword accordingly.

Seiran took a deep breath, fully intending to say whatever he needed to say to get Kougaiji into a more forgiving mood. Before he could think of anything though, the other presence caught up with him.

"Found ya!" Goku emerged from the darkness and pointed the Nyoi-bo straight at Seiran. A second later, Hakkai and Hakuryu caught up and Seiran's worst fears were realized: he was trapped.

"Goku, stay out of this!" Kougaiji called from the other side. "Seiran is **my** problem and I'll handle him accordingly."

Goku snorted. "We made a deal, didn'we? Whoever found 'im first gets dibs, right?"

"I believe I 'found' him first," Kougaiji retorted coolly.

"Yeah," Goku admitted. "But ya didn't call dibs!" With that, he raised the Nyoi-bo above his head and took off for the enemy youkai.

Seiran reacted purely on instinct, reaching into his pockets for the smoke bombs he'd taken. He grabbed one in each hand and tossed them in opposite direction, towards Kougaiji and Dokugakuji on one end and Hakkai and Goku on the other. The spy took off the second they detonated, making a split-second decision to leap over the stunned members of the Sanzo-Ikkou.

Hakkai covered his mouth while Goku swatted angrily at the air. Both could barely hear Seiran's footsteps as he retreated, but Goku darted off in pursuit, not deterred by the smoke in the least.

Kougaiji tried to disperse the smoke as quickly as he could, but his eyes were watering from the second of these bombs in less than an hour. Doku charged through the haze, intent on beating Goku to the punch. He kept an ear open in case Kougaiji told him to stop, but he headed through the second layer of smoke regardless.

Hakkai and Goku emerged on the other side of the smoke and the healer took a second to inhale some clean air. "Longer, Nyoi-bo!" Goku called, making the staff extend just long enough to trip up Seiran and send him falling to the ground.

The youkai managed to land on his palms, which he used to spring himself back up. However, the few seconds that this took enabled Hakkai to summon a small chi ball and get a direct hit on Seiran's left leg. The spy instantly crumpled to the ground.

Finding himself against the stone floor for the second time in about ten seconds, Seiran spun around only to have his head meet with the gold top of the staff. His vision burst into stars, but before he could get his bearings, a splitting, overwhelming pain suddenly accompanied it. '_What?'_ he started to think, as everything around him became fuzzy.

Hakkai caught up to Goku and saw the teen move back. At that very second, Seiran slumped to the floor, staring down at his body. A dark red stain marked the middle of the spy's chest, indicating the spot where the Nyoi-bo had gone clean through him. He choked out something that was like a cry and fell forward when Goku retracted the staff.

Hakkai couldn't find it in himself to offer any sympathy, but did feel disappointed at not getting an opportunity to inflict some more punishment himself. "Is that all, then?" The healer couldn't help but frown.

Goku released his grip on the staff and it disappeared back to the space it came from. "Too easy. He di'n't even fight back right."

Footsteps behind them signaled Hakkai that Kougaiji had gotten past the second bomb. The prince and his guardian come forward out of the smoke and surveyed the damage.

"What happened here?" Kougaiji demanded, glaring straight at Goku. "Is he--?"

"I killed 'im," Goku admitted as he turned to face his rival. "You were too slow." He smirked a little, but he dropped it as soon as he saw how serious the situation was. "Ya mad?"

"You think?" Doku shot a glance over to the prince after making a snappy remark of his own, but Kougaiji was just clenching his hands into fists, lips pressed tightly together. "Kou? What should we…?"

Kougaiji ignored him and continued to focus on Goku. "That was far too severe a punishment for what he did. I won't forgive you for this." Seeing Goku's expression fall just a little, the prince once more addressed the swordsman. "Dokugaku, collect Seiran and his things. We pull back for now."

-+-

The four people upstairs had finally made their way down to the first floor under a rather awkward silence. Lirin was the only one who didn't seem embarrassed or angry – in fact, the princess had made something of a game out of making fun of the two members of the Ikkou.

Sanzo was about to silence her permanently after she made up some sort of song about him and the kappa – since when did either of them sit in trees anyway? – when they rejoined the rest of their respective groups downstairs by the doorway. Kougaiji looked distant and Doku had just returned from taking something outside of the prison entrance.

Goku was looking a little down himself, but jumped up when he saw Sanzo and Gojyo descend the stairs. "There ya are, _erogappa!_ We went through so much crap 'cuz a' you!" He ran over to the two and gave the redhead a punch in the arm.

"Ow! That hurt, _bakazaru!"_ Gojyo pushed down as hard as he could on Goku's head. "I just got stabbed an' shit an' you're goin' an' makin' it all worse!" The two started tussling for a few seconds before Hakkai made his way over to them.

"You were stabbed?"

Gojyo looked up from the squabble with Goku to see Hakkai's smile drop for just a minute, into a genuinely concerned expression. "Uh, yeah, but I'll live," the redhead admitted.

"Still…" Hakkai's tone was fairly disapproving nonetheless and Gojyo finally lifted up his shirt to show the bandages and that no harm was currently befalling him.

"Now that we're done with our happy reunion," Sanzo cut in dryly, "we need to get on with the Journey – no more distractions." The priest sighed as he saw that Kougaiji's group was still standing a little ways away. "I suppose you people want some sort of thank-you?"

"For what?" Kougaiji crossed his arms. "Dokugaku, Yaone, Lirin; we're leaving." With one last look at the blond, he warned, "Next time we meet, the Maten Sutra **will** be mine."

"Whatever." Sanzo dug out a cigarette and put it between his lips.

"Ah!" Gojyo stood straight up as if just remembering something. He began searching through his own pockets and triumphantly withdrew his battered package of Hi-Lites, along with a lighter. "Oh, I've missed you guys!"

"Melodramatic much?" Sanzo lit his own cigarette after snatching the lighter away. "Maybe you should consider quitting?"

"Look who's talking," Gojyo shot back, grabbing it back and sighing once the flame took. "I had to substitute for **your** shitty cigs when I was trapped up there. It was pure torture."

"Worse than being stabbed, I'm sure."

Meanwhile, Hakkai had quietly excused himself from the two smokers' presence, mostly due to the air contamination, and took it upon himself to say goodbye to Yaone. He knew that Kougaiji was furious with Goku's actions and would want to leave as soon as possible.

The apothecary bowed her head once he got close enough, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Kougaiji-sama is extremely upset. We had best get back to the castle as soon as possible."

"I understand." As Hakkai nodded, he saw Yaone lifting her head very slightly. "Regardless, I enjoyed seeing you again. I always do…"

He felt like he was dreaming. Hakkai could see himself leaning in to gently brush his lips against Yaone's. His eyes closed for only a few seconds before he had the sense to pull away.

The brunet had barely started moving back when Yaone's hands reached up to cup his chin. She delicately brought him back down to her level and into another kiss. She gave a little hum of satisfaction as his arms slipped around her back and linked.

Then, from behind Yaone, there was a fairly obvious 'ahem.'

Both she and Hakkai broke apart and looked over to see that it had come from Kougaiji. The prince was already on the irritable and upset side – this did **not** help matters. Yaone realized, even though she didn't know the details of the Seiran situation, that she had just kissed her supposed enemy in front of his friends and her lord.

The apothecary could only freeze, a blush creeping its way across her face. She had definitely had enough embarrassment for a lifetime in the past two days alone.

Hakkai could hear snickering behind him that he distinctly identified as Gojyo's, meaning that all other conversation had stopped and everyone was watching them. "Well," he started, trying to clear his throat. "We should be going on our way."

Yaone nodded mutely, still frozen in place. She remained there until Dokugakuji walked up behind her. The swordsman sighed and gently picked her up underneath both arms, spun her around in a one-eighty, put her down once more, and pushed her in Kougaiji's direction. Still somewhat in shock, the woman took a few tentative steps towards her prince and then hurried outside without glancing back.

Doku gave a wave and a nod to Gojyo, something of a brotherly '_glad you're safe, kid,'_ and followed the other two.

Lirin was the last to leave, eyes widened at the Ikkou in disbelief for everything she'd witnessed today.

Hakkai watched them disappear through the doorway, only snapping out of it when Gojyo's heavy hand landed on his shoulder. "Way t' go, man," the redhead said, still fighting back laughter. "Think ya scared the poor thing, though."

Sanzo had ignored the two and went to get information about Seiran out of Goku. The boy looked a bit depressed, making the priest wonder if the problem had really been taken care of after all.

"I assume he's dead," Sanzo stated, taking the last drag off of his dying cigarette. "Otherwise, Kougaiji and his group wouldn't have stomped out of here pissed."

Goku hung his head. "Yeah, Seiran's dead," he muttered. "I killed 'im."

"Then what's the problem?"

After a nervous swallow, Goku looked back up at Sanzo, golden eyes quivering slightly. "He says he won't forgive me." Goku balled his hands into fists and went on before Sanzo could respond. "He **said** that it was whoever got there first – 'Dibs,' ya know! He never **said** that I couldn't kill 'im! I thought I could! Seiran hurt Gojyo, didn't he? That means what I did was right!"

'_I can't believe I got myself into this._' Sanzo shook his head. "Why do you care what he thinks of you or if he's mad? Let him deal with it. Not your problem."

Goku let out a huff of air. "Feels like it. Kougaiji's been mad before… but I think he **hates** me."

"He's your enemy," Sanzo said. He dropped the cigarette to the ground and crushed it out with his foot. "I repeat: why do you care?"

"Even if he's my enemy, he's still my friend." Goku paused, then gave a sheepish smile up at his guardian. "I know it doesn't make sense, but to me it does."

"Only you would say something that stupid," Sanzo conceded. "Just a shame that I didn't get to smash Seiran's face in for putting us through this crap."

"You mean for hurting Gojyo?"

"What makes you think I care about that bastard cockroach?"

Goku smiled again and this time, Sanzo felt that it was a very sneaky version. It was as if Goku knew something that Sanzo didn't. "Well, when ya love someone, ya worry 'bout 'em, right? I don't even **like** Gojyo, but that doesn't mean some asshole youkai can hurt 'im. That's our job!"

Sanzo pointedly looked away. "I'll pretend we didn't have this conversation."

"Whatever you say." Goku looked a little bit happier than before, like just seeing Sanzo was enough to lift his spirits. '_I like this new Sanzo,'_ he thought, '_He doesn't get mushy, but he's a little bit easier to talk to now.'_

Suddenly, the impact of what had just happened with the others hit him. "Hey, Sanzo!" he called out, making his voice echo in the entryway of the prison. "Did Hakkai just kiss Yaone?!"

"Wow, you're **so good** at paying attention!" Gojyo yelled back, ignoring the way Hakkai paled at Goku's outburst. "That only happened ten minutes ago! You're slow, monkey!"

"Don't call me a monkey! At least I don't got any holes in me!"

"'Cept the one in your head!" Gojyo taunted, laughing when Goku lunged after him.

"Stupid, pervy, dried-up kappa!"

BANG BANG!

"If you don't shut up and move your asses, you'll ALL have holes in your heads!" Turning to face the door, Sanzo tucked the shoureiju into his robes and tried for his most withering expression. "I'd like to get out of this hellhole. Now."

"_Hai, hai, _Sanzo-sama," Gojyo drawled sarcastically, earning himself another scowl.

-+-

Trying to put that unpleasant diversion behind them, the Ikkou reached the outside of the prison, where Hakuryu was already waiting in Jeep form. Goku hopped into the back and Gojyo started to do the same, only to double over in pain.

"Shit," he moaned, holding his abdomen. "I keep forgetting about that damn wound."

"Here." Hakkai had been looking for something to do, so he had Gojyo sit on the edge of Jeep and lift up his shirt. The brunet unwrapped the bandages and held his hands over the wound, eyes closed in concentration. The soft white-green light of his chi became visible.

Closing his eyes, Gojyo chose to ignore the fact that his skin and tissue was mending itself back together. Things didn't heal completely this way, but anything was better than an open wound. Hakkai's hands stayed a couple of inches off of Gojyo's body, moving side to side so that everything was covered.

"The rest should heal by morning, but I wouldn't overdo it in the process," Hakkai warned him.

Gojyo looked over his shoulder to see that Sanzo was already buckled into the front seat. "Yeah, okay, I get it."

Once everyone was settled into the car, Hakkai climbed into the driver's seat and started Jeep West yet again. There was silence for a few more minutes before Goku spoke up.

"So… are you guys still all mad at each other?" The teen looked a little happier than he had in the prison and internally, Sanzo was a little thankful for it.

"No more than usual," Gojyo said. One of his hands was resting subconsciously over his abs. "At least, **I** think so. What about you, Blondie?"

Sanzo snorted. "It's a waste of energy to stay mad at you. If I have to go through one of these shitty side trips every time you get distracted, we'll never get to India."

Gojyo could have come up with a suitable retort, but settled for laughing instead.

-+-

There has been no response from Seiran all day. It is fairly easy to assume that the youkai was now dead. Not as though I care.

What is really a shame was that the trip didn't go as smoothly as planned. Generally trustworthy sources had said, after all, that a Sanzo priest resided in this area, an older man who was supposedly on his deathbed.

_Once I had reached the little town and its even tinier temple, I heard the oh-so-__**unfortunate**__ news that the Sanzo had already passed on. A shame indeed. It was only proper to get the location of the temple in order to pay respects to the departed soul._

_I was rather pleased to see that the Sanzo had wasted no time in finding a successor. Such a young boy, too, likely another protégé with amazing Buddhist powers. It was unfortunate also that I couldn't remember his name._

_Worse still that I was wrong about the amazing powers. The boy was so weak, so distraught over the recent death of his master, that he had barely mastered his basic duties. It was difficult to even imagine him wielding a sutra._

_In all fairness, I offered guidance to the young man. Advice often went a long way. I stayed the night in the temple, fully intent on sharing more wisdom with a fellow high priest._

_Unfortunate things kept happening though, I noticed. That very night, when I went to speak to the new Sanzo, I found the priest murdered. Such a shame, that._

_It was my duty as a priest to protect the sutras, even if they technically belonged to others. I smiled when he slipped the sutra into the sleeve of his robe, mindful of the blood that was spreading on the floor. The young Sanzo's lifeless eyes stared up at me in horror and I shook my head._

"_If only your Master had held on a few days longer," I remarked, looking over at a candle that flickered on the bedroom nightstand. "You wouldn't have been involved in this mess at all."_

-+-

Despite being severely off-track and having to go backtrack in order to start heading West again, the Sanzo-Ikkou once again returned to the village of Yi San. If the four of them hadn't been so exhausted, they might have felt a slight annoyance at being at the same inn for the third night in a row.

The Ikkou ended up with two single bedrooms and one double this time. Splitting up was a simple task and Sanzo and Gojyo were finally alone in a room together for the first time since the prison cell – and the first bedroom in nearly two days.

Gojyo indulged in an extra-long hot shower, relishing in being clean after such an ordeal. He stood underneath the showerhead, feeling the dirt and blood and misery of the past forty-eight hours wash off of his skin. The place where he'd been wounded still ached even though Hakkai had healed it.

'_Shit,' _he thought, gently pressing his fingers to his torso, '_I guess Hakkai was right after all. An' I was lookin' forward to havin' some fun tonight too…'_

Finally, he twisted the water off and made his way out of the bathroom. Sanzo was already in the bed where the kappa finally flopped down on the right side of the mattress with a sigh. Gojyo ignored the look the blond gave him for making everything bounce.

Gojyo reached over to turn off the light and sighed once more. "Damn. That was a pain in the ass."

Sanzo snorted, shifting on his side away from Gojyo. "Says the guy who sat on his **own** ass waiting to get rescued."

"Hey," Gojyo shot back, propping himself up on an elbow to get a better look at the priest. "Shouldn't you cut the injured guy some slack? Just 'cuz I got healed doesn't mean it's all behind us."

Now it was Sanzo's turn to sigh. "At least you're right in one respect: the past couple of days've been **extremely** shitty."

"You're **still** sayin' 'extremely?'" Gojyo asked. "We so need a new word."

"What do you propose, genius?"

"…Did we use 'immensely' yet?"

"Fine," Sanzo decided. "It was **immensely** shitty."

"Still…" Gojyo trailed off, lying back down so that he could stare at the ceiling. "At least it's over. And I'm back with my sweetheart, safe and sound."

"Ch."

"What?" Gojyo turned just his head to face Sanzo. "You still not speakin' t' me after our heartfelt confessions?"

Sanzo pulled his pillow closer, as if he was preparing to block Gojyo out. "We didn't even **begin** to crack the surface on all of that."

'_Izzat so?' _"…Meaning?"

"When you say stuff like 'I love you,' do you even think about it?" Sanzo tried to sound as condescending as usual, but Gojyo could still hear the uncertainty in his voice. The redhead waited to see if Sanzo would continue, and after a nervous cough, he did.

Sanzo tried not to twitch with irritation. "How many people have you told that to… and **meant** it?"

'_Figures. Of __**course**__ he still doesn't believe me. How the hell am I ever going to get this across to him?'_ Gojyo pondered it for a few seconds while staring back at the ceiling and ultimately decided to be as brutally honest as possible. "You want the truth, huh?" he asked with a laugh. "Of everyone I've ever been with, I've probably told half that I love them, if that. But— Let me finish…" He saw Sanzo's eyes getting colder and knew he had to stop that right in its tracks. "But if you want to know how many people I've said that to and **meant** it… Well, I'm lookin' at the only one."

Sanzo sounded distant. "Liar."

"Hey, you wanted honest," Gojyo said defensively. "I'm bein' honest."

"Why?"

"Why are you the only one? Is that what you want to know?" He took a deep breath. Gojyo had never been quite so open with anyone like this before, but he knew it was a chance he would have to take. "Well, how can you fall in love with a one-night stand? It was only once we started this relationship together… that I fell.

"There's so much more to you than what you let others see. I wanted you to let down the wall. Now that I get these bits and pieces, I can't help wanting all of you. I've been with all these people and I know it hurts you to hear it, but I've **never** wanted anything besides sex from them. But with you… I guess now I **want** a lot more. I think we both deserve it. I tell you I love you because I want this to be about so much more than sex."

Sanzo remained so silent and still, even after that long confession and Gojyo hoped something was coming across. The priest still tried to play it off as sarcasm. "That's a shock, coming from you of all people."

Gojyo didn't even consider taking offense to that, having long ago seen through Sanzo's front. "That's the thing though, right? You remember the first time we had sex? I've **never** felt that connected with **anyone** else. You can't say you don't feel anything either. That's when I get to see the **real** Sanzo."

The priest made a noise Gojyo almost swore was a laugh. "You don't **let** me hide then; I can't do anything about it. If it didn't feel so damn good…"

"HA!" Gojyo couldn't help crowing over having weaseled that out of his lover.

Sanzo whacked him with the back of his hand, but Gojyo barely felt it. "You're the reason I can't control myself anymore, you know. You have no idea how much I feel like a stupid goddamn teenager." He looked disgusted. "Fuckin' hormones."

Gojyo was grinning; '_Sanzo just practically __**admitted**__ I make him horny!'_

"Don't make me kill you," Sanzo muttered, well aware that Gojyo's ego was in danger of over-inflating. "I guess I just want to know what all this **is** to you. I don't have time for games."

"I understand." Gojyo moved so that he could drape an arm around Sanzo's waist and pulling the priest back against his body. "I'm done with games, too. I want you and I want this to be serious."

"Serious how?"

"I want this to be it for me." Gojyo couldn't believe how final that felt. He knew, though, that he had never been more serious about anything in his life. "I could die happy if you decided to stick by me, but I want us both to go a little further. I guess what I'm saying is… the next level."

Sanzo considered this. "Something… permanent?" he ventured a guess.

"Exactly. But I know there's still stuff I need to work on," Gojyo admitted. "I'll tell you anything you want to know about me, but it's a two-way street."

"There are things I can't tell you," Sanzo said, mind drifting off somewhere far in the past. "Or anyone."

"I know, me too."

The two fell into silence for a minute until Sanzo spoke once more. "But… I guess I could at least… a little…" He drifted off uncomfortably, keeping his eyes turned away from Gojyo.

The redhead knew what Sanzo was trying to say, no matter how embarrassed he got over it. "It means a lot, trust me."

There was another pause before something else occurred to Gojyo. "Just one thing, Sanzo: what do **you** want from me? Other than sweet lovin', I mean…" The joke earned him another soft smack in the arm.

"I guess… just to be left alone once in a while," Sanzo conceded. "That means you're not attached to me at the hip and I'm not breathing down your neck. Yeah, we're crammed in a Jeep all the damn time, but when we get out, you can go drink and gamble and I can get tea and a paper, and we'll meet up later."

Gojyo nodded, not thinking about the fact that Sanzo couldn't see it in the dark. The blond did have a point, he realized. '_But this deal sounds a little __**too**__ casual…'_

"But," Sanzo clarified with another cough. "That doesn't mean we're only having sex for five minutes a night and going off to separate rooms. There's a happy medium… somewhere."

"Point taken. Anything else?"

Gojyo could tell that Sanzo was talking through gritted teeth, as if the mere words were hurting him to say. "I… guess I **do** want to know stuff about you. Just a little. If it's not too annoying."

"Thanks, I'll try." Gojyo pulled Sanzo close and planted a tender kiss on the back of his neck. "So… we friends again?"

"Hn. We were **never** friends."

"…Can we start?"

Sanzo would never admit it, but Gojyo could only describe the priest's actions as moving backwards to snuggle closer. "I'll think about it."

'_So cute when he's grumpy,'_ Gojyo thought. He smiled and declared, "Well, in the name of newfound friendship, let's share a little something. Something happy, but that no one else knows."

There was another pause and finally, Sanzo spoke up. "You first."

Gojyo grimaced. "Walked right into that one." He started to think, but soon was overcome by a yawn. "Tell ya what… how 'bout we take some time to think it over? Take a rain-check for now."

"Sure."

'_Remarkably agreeable for him.' _Definitely more relaxed, Gojyo prepared to settle in. "Shall we call it a night, then? I can leave you alone if you want."

Suddenly, Gojyo felt the bed shift and saw Sanzo leaning over him. "I… don't feel like being alone right now."

Sanzo pushed himself up from the bed, turning away from Gojyo and slowly peeling off the black tank top. Gojyo stared, transfixed by more and more pale skin coming into view. Next, Sanzo unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down his legs even more slowly. As usual, he wasn't wearing anything underneath, which Gojyo constantly thanked the gods for.

Once naked, Sanzo turned around and blushed a little under Gojyo's intent gaze. Due to being _hanyou,_ Gojyo's vision was fairly good in the dark. His eyes drifted over every inch of his lover, making a low noise of approval deep in his throat. Just that little hum sent a jolt through Sanzo's body, along with a shiver of arousal.

However, the priest wasn't ready to hand things over to the redhead yet. "Now you," he whispered, climbing back into bed and working Gojyo's boxers from his body. The kappa lifted his hips to allow for better access to the article of clothing. No sooner had Sanzo dropped the boxers to the floor then did Gojyo draw him closer on top of his body.

The blond straddled either side of Gojyo's waist, bending down for a kiss. Gojyo could tell that Sanzo was trying his hardest to avoid the injured section of his abs, so he cupped his hands around Sanzo's firm ass and pulled him closer. With a moan, Sanzo dropped kisses all along Gojyo's mouth, cheeks, and neck.

"Love…" Gojyo whispered, trying to hold in the gasp of pain as Sanzo's hand pressed against his injury. "Ah, shit…"

Wide-eyed, the priest tried to back off, only to have Gojyo grip his rear harder and hold him close. "I… hurt you…"

"No. No, no, no. Please stay, it's not that bad, honest."

Rolling off to the side and making the bedsprings squeak under him, Sanzo now had his back against the mattress while Gojyo leaned over him. Sanzo's legs were still wrapped around Gojyo's hips and the redhead rocked against him, making Sanzo cry out.

Sanzo squeezed his eyes shut, making a few soft noises of pleasure when Gojyo's hand stroked the outside of his thighs. Just the feel of Gojyo's skin against his own was making him hard and he wanted his lover to keep touching those extremely sensitive spots. "Yes," Sanzo moaned. "More… there!"

It was almost involuntary, but Sanzo felt his own hands reaching out to draw Gojyo even closer. The blond clenched his legs around Gojyo's waist tighter, guiding one of Gojyo's hands to his erection while the other ran featherlike across Sanzo's hip and belly. "Ah!"

For such a battle-worn, worldly priest, Sanzo had surprisingly soft skin. Gojyo could just touch him for hours, watching in amazement at the intense reactions he got. Moving over top of his lover, the redhead pressed his own hardness against the curve of Sanzo's ass and was delighted to hear another moan in response. '_This is what I meant,' _he marveled. '_I've never felt this close to __**anyone**__ else.'_

Gojyo's fingers curled tight around Sanzo's cock, urging the blond to thrust into the loose fist. "Tell me what you want," the redhead murmured, wanting nothing more than to bury himself and share in the pleasure. His other hand found a place on Sanzo's hip, pressing down on it for support.

"Unh… this… yes…" Sanzo couldn't get any more specific, due to choking back another cry as Gojyo's thumb brushed over the slit. The priest finally let go of his lover's hands to comb through crimson hair.

Their eyes met and Gojyo smirked at the sight of the blond; naked, panting, cheeks & neck flushed pink with arousal, and with lust filling his eyes. He leaned forward to delicately nibble on Sanzo's lips, feeling the other man melting into his touch. "Sanzo," he whispered, moving down to kiss the hollow of his throat.

Sanzo could only moan in response, sending vibrations to Gojyo's lips and turning him on further. The hand that had been gripping Sanzo's hip swept down between Sanzo's legs and Gojyo gripped himself, and the blond nearly lost it when Gojyo slowly began to pump them in synch.

Sanzo's hands weren't doing much from their place in Gojyo's hair, so he allowed one to drift down and trace its way past Gojyo's toned stomach, through the coarse red curls beneath and taking over where his lover was working himself.

The two allowed themselves to get caught up in the moment, each giving pleasure to the other, only breaking for more kisses and breathy sighs. Sanzo tore his hand away to brush the side of Gojyo's face, bringing it closer to kiss and slipping his tongue into his lover's mouth.

Amid the kissing, Gojyo pumped a little harder, until finally Sanzo shuddered and released into his hand. The blond clenched his legs tighter around Gojyo, letting orgasm roll through him.

Gojyo pulled back, smiling and gently kissing Sanzo's nose. Though he still needed his own climax, it wasn't unbearable yet. "I missed this, Sunshine. I missed **you**."

"Mmm…" Sanzo curled his fingers around a strand of red hair. "I think I temporarily went insane back there."

"Temporarily?"

"Shut up," the priest tried, but it was weak. "It was… stupid to get mad over any of it."

"Glad to hear it." Gojyo figured that was as close to an apology as he was going to get out of Sanzo. Even when they were this intimate, there were still some barriers the priest was never going to let down. "Now, let's get to the **really** good stuff."

"Wait." Sanzo's voice was a bit hesitant and Gojyo couldn't actually believe that his lover wanted to hold off on release any longer. "I… before we…"

Gojyo figured it didn't hurt to continue what he was doing and began kissing down the side of Sanzo's neck. He pulled Sanzo close and let his hand trail down the blond's sides. "Yeah?"

The kappa could hear hard breathing next to his ear and Sanzo tried a few times before finally whispering four tiny words. Gojyo's eyes widened, but he couldn't keep from smiling.

"_Gojyo… I love you."_


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

The night was still young, but the bar was already packed. Human and youkai alike sat inside, neither seeming too wary of each other. Two youkai sat alone at a table in the back of the bar, a few drinks already piled around them while one looked around at the other patrons.

"Shou," Kishin said again, eyes scanning the other customers. "Are you **sure** this is okay? What if he gets mad?"

"He won't," Shou reassured his friend, flagging down a waitress and smiling slyly at her. "Another round, miss."

"Right away, sir." She bustled off through the crowd and Shou unashamedly stared at her retreating back until Kishin's fretting once again got to him.

"Dammit, Kishin, no one's gonna get mad. You and I, we **earned** this drink for all the B.S. they put us through. Now stop shaking and drink your beer." With that, Shou knocked yet another one back and wiped his mouth off with a smirk.

A few minutes later, Kishin had a feeling that Shou was over his limit. He was usually pretty good with his liquor, but when some woman at the other end of the bar had sent down a shot of tequila for him, that was the last straw. The normally quiet, thoughtful man was standing on his chair, wobbling slightly and yelling to get everyone's attention.

"HEY! Okay! Here's the deal! I just had a hell of a crappy day, so we're all gonna get drinks! Everybody!"

Kishin dragged his palm over his face as the bar roared its approval. '_We are __**so**__ going to get in trouble for this, I just know it.'_

By the time he finally managed to drag his thoroughly wasted companion to the door, the rather irate bar owner stopped him. "And how do you two plan on paying for all those drinks?" he inquired.

Kishin tried to think of a suitable excuse, but Shou wasn't quite finished yet. Holding up a finger and pointing it in the owner's face, he slurred out, "Put it on my good buddy's tab. Tonight's all on him!"

"Oh?" The owner raised an eyebrow and looked at Kishin. "Is he your 'good buddy?'"

Shou continued to beam. "Everything we bought tonight… put it on Sha Gojyo's tab!"

-+-

The laboratories in the basement of Houtou Castle were eerily silent. Dr. Hwang made her way through the various rooms, searching for any of the other scientists in vain. She made one final sweep of Ni's workspace and determined that the doctor was long gone.

Oddly enough, his computer was still on, and she couldn't help but go over to see what he had been working on. There was nothing she could get to, but a disc was lying on top of the keyboard in a rather conspicuous manner. Leaning closer, Hwang saw that it was labeled "Sanzo-Ikkou Data."

'_I've never seen this before,'_ she thought to herself. '_How could he keep something like this from me? We should all see important things like this!'_

Hwang picked up the disc and popped it into the nearest DVD player. The screen fuzzed to life and she saw that it appeared to be some sort of surveillance tape. The video feed was very blurry, but she could make out two figures as they entered the room.

"_Damn, love, I want you," _said a male voice.

"What?" She whispered despite the fact that she was trying to be quiet. "Is this a joke?"

A second male voice answered the first with a moan. "_It's all your fault. I could barely sit down there, the way you were shamelessly flirting."_

"_Who cares?" _the first male responded. "_We're here now, so you don't have to worry."_

Dr. Hwang was feeling uneasy, so she fast-forwarded the video a little bit. The blurry male figures sped from one side of the room to the other, onto what looked like a bed. She hit 'play' again and nearly jumped at the dialogue.

"_Oh, shit, Gojyo! Oh, yes!"_

"_You like that?"_

"_Mmm… harder, dammit!"_

"_Dammit… so tight, love, unh!"_

"_Shit, Gojyo! I'm – I'm --!"_

"_Sanzo!"_

Abruptly, the video feed cut off and Hwang jumped. She realized that she had been staring at the screen, transfixed. The female scientist shook her head. '_This is ridiculous._

'_On one hand,'_ she reasoned, looking at the dark screen and ignoring the fact that her cheeks were pink, '_This just proves how perverted Dr. Ni is if he has something like this lying around._

'_One the other hand, it __**is**__ footage of the Sanzo-Ikkou… It could be valuable to study.'_ She shook her head fiercely. '_What kind of excuse is that? I should turn the video off, walk away, and pretend this whole thing never happened.'_

She took a deep breath, prepared to do exactly that – only to find her finger hovering over the 'play' button. '_I have more self-control than this,'_ she thought haughtily. However, her finger didn't move.

Still, the sounds of the two men 'enjoying' each other echoed in her memory. It sounded extremely intriguing.

But it was none of her business…

Two very attractive men obviously having sex were none of her business…

Hwang pressed play once again. After all, she reasoned, it was only research.


End file.
